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Building a Global Community to End the Clean Water Shortage

From the glitz and glamour of the Hollywood elite to the majestic jungles of Cape Town South Africa, we all share one unique commonality indiscriminate of location or culture: a thirst and need for clean drinking water. Yet this basic necessity, so integral to human life, has become for many a testament of trial, a stain within the fabric of modern society plaguing those who suffer from preventable illnesses that lead to sickness and even death.

The current crisis

Cholera, typhoid and other illnesses from contaminated drinking sources continue to affect various families, women, and children. What has accurately been described as a crisis has now become an epidemic with new cases of waterborne illnesses arising every day. According to Water.org, a child dies every ninety seconds from a water-related disease. The sight of seeing children and mothers wading through dirty, murky water in hopes of finding a source fit for consumption is enough to make anyone cringe. Still, most heartbreaking is how many of these problems are completely preventable.

Taking responsibility

Consider that commodities may also be luxuries given perspective, what is readily accessible for one may be a challenge for another. Perhaps this is why clean water hasn’t received as much attention. Still, many organizations have recognized the problem and answered the call to be someone’s hero. This has taken many forms, one of which has been the building of clean water sources in the form of wells.

Some companies are even offering give-back models where the purchase of a bottle of water contributes to the funding of a well in an impacted part of the world. Being informed comes as a result of responsibility — ideally as more people discover what is happening, they will find ways to join the fight in making clean water more accessible to those in need.

Kenny Copeland Jr., Writer, Generosity Water, [email protected]

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