Since 2002, the LDS Church has helped five million people in over 5,000 communities obtain access to clean water sources says lds.org.  Clean water projects have enjoyed long-term sustainability because of the effectiveness of the programs. In 2009 alone the church had clean water projects going in 24 countries which included Armenia, Bolivia, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Philippines, Republic of Congo, Serbia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.

A new well brings new life to the DR Congo.

News story from the LDS Church.

With the assistance of missionary couples and LDS Charities, a new day of fresh, safe water is dawning on the remote community of Luputa, DR Congo. Residents feel unbounded joy for their new gift.

Young men join the community-wide project to bring water to Luputa, DR Congo. The 10-inch pipe for the main water line was manufactured in Kinshasa and transported more than 600 miles to Luputa.

Digging a trench for a pipeline was not easy. Many men and boys dug through miles of jungle vegetation and rocky soil with no electricity, paved roads or machinery. The additional challenge was to maintain water pressure over a long distance.

Lack of clean water is a burden almost too difficult to bear. This man transports large canisters several miles.

After trying for 15 years to get clean water to Luputa, four springs were discovered in a distant, overgrown hillside.

Projects like this are funded by members paying tithing. Chances are, you have helped bring someone clean water. Thank you.

Millions of people walk 6 kilometers every day just to collect water for their basic needs. Billions have no safe place to go to the toilet. Lack of water and sanitation traps people in a vicious circle of disease, lost life chances and poverty. In Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours each year just walking for water.

End Water Poverty video

Along their long walk, they’re subjected to a greater risk of harassment and sexual assault. Hauling cans of water for long distances takes a toll on the spine and many women experience back pain early in life. With safe water nearby, women are free to pursue new opportunities and improve their families’ lives. Kids can earn their education and build the future of their communities.

The UN has declared this the Water for Life decade. It started in 2005 and is aiming to promote efforts and fulfill international commits regarding water by 2015. Achieving the goals of the ‘Water for Life’ Decade requires sustained commitment, cooperation and investment on the part of all stakeholders from 2005 to 2015 and far beyond.

The ‘Water for Life’ Decade provides an opportunity to everyone to get involved. The Decade takes place everywhere around the world. The UN said,”Your ideas and initiatives, as an individual or organization, are always welcomed. Whatever kind of events you decide to organize, we hope this will help you leverage the maximum impact, however modest your budget.” All efforts will contribute to making the ‘Water for Life’ Decade a landmark event!

As we are quickly apporaching 2015 we need to be more proactive than ever.

Get the word out. Tell your friends. Tell your mom. Tell the person you meet in the grocery store line. Tell everyone!

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BYU Electrical engineering students have been working on making a human powered drill for a year and have completed their dream. The team built the drill for WHOlives.org. WHOlives will use it to bring clean water to developing countries. The co-founder of WHOlives said that this is a sustainable way to impact people all over the world. “People with great intentions often go over there and give stuff away, but sometimes it’s just a Band-Aid on a bigger injury,” he said. “But this could ultimately bring water to millions of people. The BYU team hit a home run.”

The drill can be operated by four people. Three actually spin the wheel the turns the drill and the fourth one lifts the drill up and down when they need to get through tough spots. The dirt is removed by a water pump system. The drill can be easily taken apart and transported and reassembled within an hour. It is small and portable enough to be moved among hard to reach villages.

“At the beginning of the year we had a meeting with the sponsor, and he said that very rarely do you get an opportunity to work on a project that can change millions of lives,” said Nathan Toone, one of the student engineers who worked on the drill.

Thank you to everyone out there that is making this world a better place!

Watch them build the drill…

The “opening” of a new well ushers in tremendous improvements and transformations in a community, and it is an occasion that involves much ceremony and celebration.But the celebration day is only one moment in time. The most important days are those leading up to the event and those that follow it.

While it often only takes a few days between when the drilling rig appears and the new water point is in place, many months of preparation go into establishing a sustainable water project in a community.

Elements that  make these well projects work well are:

1. Someone that is in need of clean water actually requests it. This shows that someone in the community is willing to take the initiative to make the change.

2. The community selects the project. The people that are going to be using the well decide where to put it, what materials to use, and how much it should cost.

3. Everyone in the community must be educated on good hygiene and proper sanitation practices.

“Women work two-thirds of Africa’s working hours, and produce 70 per cent of its food, yet earn only 10 per cent of its income, and own less than 1 per cent of its property. They work three hours a day longer than the average British woman does on professional and domestic work combined.” This exert taken out of From dawn to dusk, the daily struggle of Africa’s women illustrates the struggles of most women in developing countries.

Millions of women are kept from accomplishing little more than survival. Not because of they lack of ambition, or ability, but because of a lack of water. Millions of women and children in the developing world spend untold hours daily, collecting water from distant, often polluted sources, then return to their villages carrying their filled 40 pound jerry cans on their backs. And though women are responsible for the majority of food production in their villages, their productivity is severely limited by this constant struggle.

Here’s another video. Sorry if I show too many, I just think they get the point across so well!

 

Brittae (at http://teenselfinjury.wordpress.com/) asked a couple days ago if PUR or Brita donate filters to developing countries.

PUR happens to have an amazing program. PUR has developed what they call the “PUR packet” which is a  quick, simple and easily transportable way to clean dirty water. The PUR packet is an amazing innovation that quickly turns 10 liters of dirty, potentially deadly water into clean and drinkable water. See just how easy it is here. And, because it is much smaller and easier to ship than plastic water bottles, anyone anywhere in the world can easily use it.

Here is a video all about the campaign.

view full length version here.

The PUR packet is a powdered mixture that removes pathogenic microorganisms and suspended matter, making previously contaminated water clean.

• PUR packets have been proven to eliminate disease causing microorganisms.
• PUR packets result in removal of more than 99.99999% of intestinal bacteria (including those that cause cholera), 99.99% of intestinal viruses (including those that cause hepatitis A) and 99.9% of protozoa.
• PUR packets have been proven to reduce diarrheal disease incidence in the developing world by up to 90%.
• PUR packets remove dirt and other pollutants.
• PUR packets can be used to make clean drinking water for the entire family, including infants, and are considered an effective technology by the World Health Organization.

Has it helped so far? YES!! More than two billion liters of clean drinking water have been provided by global relief organizations using PUR packets including PSI, AmeriCares, CARE, Samaritan’s Purse and World Vision.

Get involved by buying a PUR product. For every product they sell, 10 liters of clean drinking water will be made available to those in need.

1.4 million children die as a result of diarrhea each year.

Diarrhea remains in the second leading cause of death among children under five globally. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is due to diarrhea. It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.

This video gives an up close and personal look into the struggle that so many people face. Watch it.

More than a year ago Haiti was struck by an earthquake that devastated the entire country. One of the biggest issues that still remains is a lack of clean water. Cholera, spread by contaminated water or food, has sickened some 140,000 people and killed 3,300 in an outbreak that began last October.

Cholera can kill within hours if left untreated. Although most people do not develop any symptoms, the bacteria is still present in the feces and are commonly are shed back into the environment, potentially infecting other people. Cholera is an easily treatable disease. Up to 80% of people can be treated successfully through prompt administration of oral rehydration salts, according to the WHO.

No one should have to wonder if “this will be the glass of water that kills my baby.” Let’s fix the problem.

 

 

Yesterday was World Water Day! This internationally observed day started in 1993 by the UN and has been observed every year since then on March 22. Each year, World Water Day highlight a specific aspect of freshwater. In the past, it has highlighted water quality, sanitation, water scarcity, and many more important topics.

World Water Day 2011

Goal:

Water for cities: responding to the urban water challenge. The goal of highlighting water for cities was to focus international attention on the challenges and opportunities of urban water and sanitation management. The 5 key messages and challenges are:

1. Urbanization: A global surge is needed to tackle unprecedented population growth as well as the growth of informal settlements in developing countries

2. Sanitation and Pollution: Urban waste has value in terms of energy, agriculture and industry. Its collection and reuse can have economic and social benefit, protect the environment (especially downstream users) and improve health.

3. Governance and Management: Utility reform and building the capacity of local government is critical to improving service performance. Key reforms are: strengthening government leadership,
capacity and oversight, transparent regulation, ring-fenced water finance, professionalization or corporatization, private-sector partnerships and accountability to consumers.

4. Investment and Finance: Finance-strapped governments cannot meet all the financial requirements for urban services: national
and local investment strategies should mobilize additional financing from different sources e.g. the 3 T’s – tariffs, taxes and transfers.

5. Environmental Impact and Climate Change: Cities depend on resources drawn from the natural environment and will bear the impact of extreme climatic events. Ensuring that the environment has the capacity to sustain itself is a precondition for human survival.

There are many events to get involved. Have fun with it!

In most developed countries we take access to clean water for granted. Daily showers, toilets, an ice cold glass of water after a long day in the sun. These are many things that 1.1 billion people have never experienced. Developing countries have inadequate access to water and 2.6 billion people lack basic sanitation.

This seemingly small luxury that we have, is a BIG problem in developing parts of the word.

Clean water for EVERYONE is imperative. As addressed in Dying for a Drink of Water, the lack of clean water is a problem for women because they have the primary responsibility of gathering water for their household. The time they spend doing this takes them away from getting an education.

It is a problem for children because water is essential for their development. A child dies every 8 seconds due to water borne diseases.

Water is a national security issue. The crisis in Darfur perhaps stemmed from disputes over water.

Water is an economic issue since it is essential for agriculture, energy production, and poverty reduction.

When poor people in developing countries are asked what would improve their lives, they most often say improved water and sanitation. How can we overcome this BIG problem? With help from YOU.