Intern’s blog – 9 Photos: When every drop counts!

Did you ever feel fortunate to drink a glass of water?

You should! There are millions of people for whom every drop counts. One in every 9 do not have enough water to drink. Every minute a child dies due to a water related disease. 

And that’s just the beginning of the water facts that I’ve learned about in the last few weeks.

Here’s a few more:

FACTS ABOUT WATER:

• 783 million people around the world live without an access to clean water and 2.5 billion people live with no access to sanitation (UN Water, 2013)
• 3.5 million people die every year – and lack of access to clean water is a major reason why. The World Health Organization reports that these deaths occur because of inadequate water supply, lack of hygiene and no access to sanitation.
• 88% of diarrheal cases are attributed to unclean water supply, inadequate sanitation and hygiene facilities (WHO) 

But there are solutions.

In the last 25 years, 762 million people in Asia gained access to piped water connections in their homes. In rural villages, community water taps are helping families end long treks to fetch water from a river or pond.   

The people in the community of Dangeshwewa, in Sri Lanka, know too well about long walks for water. There, the village simply ran out of water. Families used to travel 2 to 3km just to fetch unclean water. 

World Vision helped every family in this community get a tap in their house. This little boy smiles and enjoys playing with water.  

Children like 10-year-old Tinkle (above) from Nepal are one of the millions who got access to improved drinking water. 

Tinkle used to walk for almost an hour to collect water from the nearest spring in her village. But things have changed for this little girl after World Vision built a community water tap near her house. 

Ten-year-old Saiylorn (sitting above) and her younger sister from Cambodia. Saiylorn is another child who used to drink dirty pond water that made her sick with diarrhea. Now that World Vision provided water pumps in her community, Saiylorn is healthy and attends school more regularly.  

And then there’s Tew in Laos (above), who used to get sick weekly because he drank unclean water. His health greatly improved after World Vision built a well in his village.  

WHY CLEAN WATER IS LIFE CHANGING

I’ve also learned how drinking clean water and having good sanitation can improve your health. 90% of the diarrheal diseases could be prevented with good sanitation and personal hygiene, the World Health Organization says.

Here’s a few more facts:

• Improved water supply can reduce diarrhea by 21% and drinking clean water leads to a reduction of diarrheal cases by 45%
• Improved sanitation can reduce diarrhea by 37.5%
• Basic hygiene like washing hands frequently can reduce diarrhea cases by 35% (WHO)

As an example of how dirty water can affect, I need to tell you about Myanmar, where one of the communities we worked developed a skin disease because they weren’t drinking clean water.  World Vision noticed the problem and drilled a tube well. The benefits to health, to earning income and to keeping children in school were numerous.

In Bangladesh, water in some village used to be full of arsenic, a chemical that is deadly.

World Vision helped women like Fatema (above) get clean water by setting up water treatment facilities. 

When Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the Visayas, in the Philippines, people lost everything – including access to fresh water. They felt hopeless.

World Vision came to aid more than 200,000 families after Typhoon Haiyan, including this father and daughter(above) providing them fresh water and other necessities.

In Vietnam (above), World Vision helps children stay healthy by building latrines and wash facilities at schools. 

World Vision is trying to help every child and their community access clean drinking water and adequate sanitation – so that people stay healthy.

There is still plenty of clean water. The issue is not about scarcity, it is about access. Access to safe water has proven to be the best way to improve human health. 

About the Author | Jemima Reddy is a World Vision Asia-Pacific social media intern based in Bangkok.

Photos by: Khaing Min Htoo - Myanmar, Alina Rajbhandary Shrestha - Nepal, Vanndeth Um - Cambodia, Ammala Thomisith - Laos, Gloria Das - Bangladesh, Mark Nonkes - Philippines, Le Thiem Xuan - Vietnam, Chetra Tan - Cambodia.