THIS PROBLEM IS SOLVABLE — AND YOU CAN HELP SOLVE IT!
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7 Ways to Make Every Day World Water Day
World Water Day is every March 22. But EVERY DAY should be world water day. Water, our shared symbol, is a most fitting place for people of all faiths to unite and lead. Here are 7 ideas that will make a difference, near and far: 1: Remember WASH: WASH is WAter/Sanitation/Hygiene. Access to WASH must be universal. 2: No more rusty pumps: Let’s make sure our charity work, works. Many houses of worship enthusiastically commit to installing “the village water pump,” but fifty percent of these one-off projects fail. A pump and posing for the photo-op isn’t good enough. We’ve got to dramatically ramp up and provide far wider support to what works, not to what makes us feel good. Before you donate, make sure you don't contribute to leaving behind that proverbial rusty pump! A number of online organizations provide tools to help you evaluate nonprofit organizations. Here are 5 of them:
3: Conserve: The U.S. leads the world in per person water use. In just four days, we use more water here than the world uses oil in a year. We over-water our lawns. We waste food (agriculture is the biggest water user in the U.S.) The average American flushes the toilet five times a day, which comes to almost six billion gallons of clean drinking water, literally going down the toilet, every day. There are plenty of ways to be smarter about our water use. 4: Act: Fun, community-building activities that engage youth and congregations also make a difference at home and at your house of worship. We can enrich our experience even more by reaching out to a neighboring church, synagogue or mosque to share with them this opportunity to make a difference, together. Water brings us together. Across a shared table or a project; across houses of worship and across oceans. This resource page offers lots of ideas — from saving water and saving money, to improving global healthcare. 5: Support women: Religion has too often been a source of repression and oppression. Supporting sustainable WASH projects is an opportunity to stand in support of all women. Like water, women are the source of life and health around the world. 6: Clergy: Let’s encourage our American faith leaders to connect with their international counterparts, because faith leaders in developing countries can influence everything from policies that prioritize WASH development, to changes in hygiene behavior that make the difference between life and death. 7: Government: Any health and development plan, policy or legislation that doesn’t include WASH is guaranteed to fall short of its goals. Because the faith voice is listened to on Capitol Hill, let’s use our voices to remind Members of Congress that no matter how much good work we do in the private sector, no funding and leadership is more influential than U.S. government foreign assistance and including WASH is smart, logical and cost-effective. Check out more faith-based resources here. |
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We've got to stop shaming girls!
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Thank you, Meghan Markle, who gave voice to the issue of menstrual hygiene.
We've got to start talking about girls. Not having the dignity of access to a basic toilet and hygiene products keeps girls home from school during their period each month. In low-income countries, girls’ choices of menstrual hygiene materials are often limited by costs, availability and social norms. Adequate sanitation facilities and access to menstrual hygiene products are an important part of the solution to keeping girls in school. |