Since my mid-teens, I’ve been a volunteer and activist. I’ve worked on all kinds of issues and in all kinds of communities, from senior citizens to youth, from hunger and poverty to symphonies, from politics and gay rights to education and inner transformation.
In recent years, I’ve struggled with where I should put my time, energy and money, in order to have the largest impact possible. The more I take apart every issue and dig deeper and deeper, the more I realize: it all comes down to water.
Water is the most basic right that we all deserve, right up there with air. Without water, none of us could feed and clothe ourselves, gain an education, work, play or love. For the average American, sketchy tap water means that we’ll have to buy a Brita. But the truth for the world’s poorest is that 4,500 children die each day from unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation facilities.
Today is Blog Action Day 2010.The focus is on water.
Here are some actions you can take:
- Visit Blog Action Day to sign a petition urging UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to continue the UN’s life-saving work bringing water and sanitation to developing nations.
- You can also use that website to research the issue, blog about it today and share the message with friends via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail.
- Donate or fundraise.
- Consider giving gifts through organizations like Alternative Gifts International or Oxfam America.
And, of course, start with your own source of water and conserve! Turn off the water when you’re not directly using it, get a low-flow toilet, plant a lawn that doesn’t require watering, take shorter showers, recycle rainwater.
Water (and air and sun) is the source of life. Without it, we certainly won’t have other issues to “worry” about, like the rising price of college tuition or paying the bills. And in many poor countries, the lack of clean water already prevents many people, especially women and girls, from caring for their families, getting an education and taking care of their own health. This contributes to larger, systemic problems.
So visit Blog Action Day to learn more or take action.
Photo credit: charitywater.org