Most people in the developed world have to walk only as far as the kitchen or bathroom taps to access clear water, safe from disease and pollution – a convenience that is painfully unavailable for 783 million people on our planet.
Programme Update – World Water Day 2013
In the countries where The Hunger Project (THP) works, communities have limited access to toilet facilities and safe water supplies. Even when improved sources of water exist, they are often more than 30 minutes away and require women and girls to travel there several times a day.
But more than something to drink or bathe with, water is a life-source. According to statistics from the United Nations, each person on Earth drinks between 2 and 4 litres of water each day – a mere fraction of the amount of water necessary to grow the food and raise the livestock necessary for us to lead healthy, sustainable lives.
In honour of this universally valuable resource, each March we celebrate World Water Day.
This year’s theme calls on the global community to recognise our shared use of water and cooperate to ensure safe, convenient access for every woman, man and child. As stated by UN Water: “cooperation is essential to strike a balance between different needs and priorities” surrounding this valuable, life-giving resource.
Learn more about how The Hunger Project is training and empowering rural communities to secure access and use safe water throughout our programmes.
Throughout THP’s programmes in Africa, South Asia and Latin America, we empower our village partners to create and strengthen cooperatives to improve their lives and those of their families and communities.
Organised groups provide countless advantages to community development. Group meetings become forums where members can voice and address common concerns and make decisions to take collective action on issues from education to family planning to access to clean water and sanitation.
Cooperation between community members, regional government and local businesses have yielded water and sanitation innovations like water purifiers in rural Uganda, clean water boreholes in Burkina Faso and sanitation programmes in Bangladesh.
Join us today in celebrating this phenomenal resource and relationship and join us this entire year in ensuring that successes LIKE THESE aren’t stand-alone achievements.
Learn More
- Get Involved
- Programme Update – World Water Day 2013
- Water and Sanitation Facts
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