Water is a liquid found in rain, streams, lakes and seas. All living organisms need water to survive. They use water for washing, cleaning, farming, cooking, draining sewage and drinking. 95% of world cities dump raw sewage into their waters. This is named “water stress”; includes Houston and Sydney. The consequences when communities lack clean water and sanitation are: dehydration, diarrhea, schistosmiasis, hookworm, and guinea worm. 40% of people in the world have no access to clean water or sanitation. Water is not just a want it is a human need. Dehydration causes severe medical problems. Everyone’s body’s live on water, we can live without food but since 90% of our body is made up of water it is impossible with none. Farmers use up to 70% more water then is used for cooking and washing. Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease. Oil was the former worst item that could wreck freshwater; it is now pollution from human waste. More then half of hospital beds in Sub Saharan Africa are occupied by patients suffering from sanitation and water related diseases.
It is more difficult for rural villages to get water, why? What effects does this have on girls of the community? It is more difficult because there are not structures built to distribute water. Most places give the more people(like cities), water; small villages they don’t care about. The girls of the community must fetch the water to bring back to everyone else.
Why does a “play pump” system make a difference to schools and communities?
The children during their free time can play and spin to get fresh water. When the kids spin it pumps water to a nearby spout.
How can we help improve the worlds water crisis?
The easiest and most helpful thing we can all do is take shorter showers, repair leaky faucets, and not over-water lawns. All organizations that help reserve water for necessary needs is also another option.
For a part of my whole project I watched a video called “Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life”. In the documentary I got to see second-hand what it is actually like. After watching I wanted to answer some questions that they had suggested were looked upon.
What are some reasons why people in Angola do not have running water in their homes? Some of the reasons are because it is very expensive and most people there do not have a lot of money. The other reason is because they simply just do not have enough to supply everyone. They are trying to take more then is available.
Ghosh talks about the “loss of dignity”, when one is forced to bathe in public. What does this mean? Access to safe, clean and private bathing rooms is a human right. Which in the “slums”, they almost never get that right.
How can a conflict arise from multiple states sharing a single water source? How can they be resolved? If there is a shortage some states may blame another state for using it all. The best way to solve this problem is create the same proportions of water for each place. Then they would all be getting equal parts and there would not be any unfair water handling.
Instead of all these girls that must fetch water every day for other people, they’re time could be used by going to school and learning new things. This means right now she also has less time for playing and helping her family. An American taking a five-minute shower uses more water then a person in a developing country in one day. I think that it is not fair that the wealthy get 100% of rights while the poor; the people we are all supposed to be helping getting out of the bad places, are the ones we are pushing farther and farther down to the point where they have no chance to live right. More people have cell phones in the world then toilets.
“Doing more with less is the first and easiest step along the path toward water security” 
The people are suffering so much because of all of these corrupt governments around the world. Some will risk their lives, some die over disputes over water cuts. 4000 of the children of these poor places die every day; killing more then HIV/Aids, malaria and measles put together.But water is not just because of humans. The other two natural causes for no water are drought and climate change. The World Bank reports that 80 countries now have water shortages. In the Middle East obtaining access to adequate water supplies is a high political priority also. Some countries even get no rainfall at all – Egypt. With climate change the hotter it gets the less water that area obtains, the colder the more water will be obtained. The more greenhouse gases are used the likelihood that the climate will change.
“Everyone needs water; everyone needs to take responsibility”
It affects so many people we need to improve the use of the world’s water and protect the environment. What can we do? Actively supporting foundations and companies that make it a priority to conserve, recycle and protect water resources. Over 50 percent of water projects fail. We can also use water more efficiently and reduce pollution. The biggest thing we can do is support funding initiatives that help make these objectives possible.
