At this very moment, millions of women are carrying 40 pounds of water on the return leg of their average 3.5-mile daily trek.
So in commemoration of International Women’s Day this week, I want to pay tribute to the resiliency of these women, and highlight the collective possibility they embody — if freed from the back-breaking and time-consuming burden of collecting water.
Providing women with access to a nearby source of clean water frees up their days to earn an income or engage in other more productive activities – which can help significantly elevate their status in the community.
Nakwetikya is a great example of this. As part of a committee formed to look after a well supported by WaterAid in Ndedo, Tanzania, she has witnessed a dramatic shift in attitudes toward women in her community:
“Before we formed a [water] committee and prepared ourselves as a community, men just saw women as animals. I think they thought of us as bats flapping around them. They had no respect for us and no one would allow you to speak or listen to what you had to say. When I stand up now in a group I am not an animal. I am a woman with a valid opinion. We have been encouraged and trained and the whole community has learned to understand us.”
As we reported earlier, our friends at the Global Water Challenge made news last week when they announced the Dow Live Earth Run for Water, which promises to be the largest event ever of its kind. Sweta Daga gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the announcement and more details about the Dow Live Earth Run for Water:
On Tuesday, October 13th, I had to get up at 5:15 a.m. To be clear, that’s not my normal wake-up time. It’s more my idea of slow torture. But that morning something important was happening. The organization I work for, Global Water Challenge, was going to be announcing its partnership with Live Earth and Dow to combat the drinking water crisis. I was excited because the Dow Live Earth Run for Water benefiting Global Water Challenge will be the largest event ever of its kind — on the scale needed to deal with the crisis. On April 18th, 2010, thousands of people around the world will participate in 6 km run/walks (the average distance many women and children walk every day to secure water), followed by featuring concerts and water education activities.
I wasn’t the only one up early on Tuesday — the students at Mott Hall Science and Technology Academy were also making their way over to The Early Show to represent kids all over the world. The students have committed to participate in the global event on April 18th and were helping us tell the world about the event by appearing on The Early Show. It was cold, but the kids from Mott Hall realized that there were kids like them all over the world who didn’t have water in their schools. In fact, half of the world’s schools lack access to clean drinking water and safe sanitation.
The official press conference was later that day at the Chelsea Piers in New York. GWC President Paul Faeth was joined on stage by Jessica Biel, Alexandra Cousteau, Pete Wentz and others to talk about how important the drinking water issue is around the world. In this day and age, there are still close to a billion people who lack access to clean water. Our hope is that the Dow Live Earth Run for Water will create a tipping point in the water crisis.
Funds raised in the U.S. will go to water and sanitation projects around the world that GWC is supporting. Every person who runs/walk on April 18th is not only helping by providing funding for these projects, but also by showing their commitment to the issue, and bring this issue to the forefront of people’s minds.
This week (August 17-23) is World Water Week. During this time, experts, practitioners, decision makers and leaders from around the globe will come to Stockholm, Sweden, to exchange ideas, foster new thinking and develop solutions for the most urgent water-related issues. While the experts are meeting in Stockholm, we want to use this opportunity to bring the issues they are discussing into homes across America. World Water Week presents a great opportunity to raise awareness and galvanize support for water and sanitation measures.
A few weeks ago, Global Water Challenge launched Water Warriors, a program to help ignite a worldwide movement that will make universal access to clean water and safe sanitation a reality. As grassroots leaders, they’ll be active in their local communities and online, raising awareness and funds in creative ways; encouraging Congress to increase funding for the issue; and helping turn other people into Water Warriors to build to a crescendo of support. Let us know what you’re doing—we’ll post it on our site and spread the word on the good work!
What is a Water Warrior?
wa•ter war•rior: a person who has committed to tackling the global water and sanitation crisis by going out into their community and:
Educating friends, family and neighbors about the magnitude of the problem and proven solutions.
Raising funds for simple, proven solutions, such as water filtration systems, soap and toilets.
Encouraging elected officials to increase water and sanitation funding.
Turning friends and family into Water Warriors to create a ripple effect.
Click here and here to find out ways that you can participate.
-Sweta Daga, Director of Communications for Global Water Challenge
Global Water Challenge was one of the lead NGO’s at this year’s Bonnaroo, the largest music festival in the United States. Thousands of concertgoers stopped by our tent exhibit to learn about water and sanitation issues. In three days, 1,500 people signed a petition to support the human right to water as mandated by the United Nations and 600 people wrote personal, hand-written letters to their representatives to call for support on critical water issues.
It’s no joke that women and children around the world have to carry 40-pound jerrycans an average of 6km every day to get water – that may or may not even be clean. We drove the point home with our jerrycan races, which educated people about the burden in a fun, but effective way.
I was amazed to see how willing people were to help—once they realized the scale of the problem.
Many just said: We had no idea. But now that we know, how can we help, what can we do?
Inspired by the energy and passion we saw at Bonnaroo, GWC is launching a new grassroots team called Water Warriors. A wa•ter war•rior is: a person who has committed to tackling the global water and sanitation crisis by going out into their community and:
Educating friends, family and neighbors about the magnitude of the problem and proven solutions.
Raising funds for simple, proven solutions, such as water filtration systems, soap and toilets.
Encouraging elected officials to increase water and sanitation funding.
Turning friends and family into Water Warriors to create a ripple effect.
To celebrate, we are hosting a launch party on July 27th, in Washington D.C. If you can’t make it or don’t live in DC, we’re hosting a conference call on July 28th. If you’re interested in becoming a Water Warrior, or learning more, we’d love for you to join us! For more information click, go to: http://globalwaterchallenge.org/warriors/warriors-home.php.
-Sweta Daga, Director of Communications, Global Water Challenge
Close to a billion people lack access to clean drinking water. 2.5 billion people lack access to safe sanitation. What do these numbers mean? In the developing world, the average person needs to walk 6km (3.73 miles) every day to fetch water that might not even be of good quality. Fetching water is also no easy task: each 5 gallon jerrycan weighs 40 pounds.
When women and girls can’t find a safe toilet, they are forced to go in the open, which exposes them to potential violence and disease. All of this means that hundreds of millions of people have to make a “choice” from among a series of bad options.
But the good news is, we have the solutions to solve this crisis. Global Water Challenge is a coalition made of 24 leading organizations who are working to get universal access to clean water and safe sanitation. We know that no one organization, one group, one idea, one well will solve it—we all need to work together, with your help.
GWC focuses on two areas—innovative financing and schools. We believe that by investing in local social entrepreneurs who can work within their communities to find the best solutions we can achieve sustainable results. Our other programmatic focus is increasing access to clean water and safe sanitation in schools in the developing world. Over half the world’s schools lack access to these basic necessities—imagine sitting through school all day without a place to use the bathroom.
We were excited to see the progress that had been made, and to hear from students and teachers about the impact that GWC and partners were having. One of the schools we visited was Regan Elementary School. We were able to talk to the students who were members of the health club there, and ask them what their thoughts were and what they were doing to make sure they had access to clean water.
What they said really surprised and inspired us. With the support of their teachers and parents, the students had taken it upon themselves to make sure they had the ability to buy enough WaterGuard for the school. They started a vegetable garden where they grow cabbages to sell to the community to raise money to keep their water clean, and their lives healthy.
We also realized that it takes only $16 to provide Regan with enough WaterGuard for the year. You can learn more about Regan and how to help at www.globalwaterchallenge.org. Or help us reach out to Congress, and ask them to support the Water for the World Act, which asks for funding for these types of projects around the world.
-Sweta Daga, Director of Communications, Global Water Challenge
Last week a few ONE staffers went to see Senator William H. Frist and Chairman of the Coca-Cola Company E. Neville Isdell launch the Declaration on U.S. Policy and the Global Challenge of Water. We were excited to hear these leaders outline practical steps the United States can take to realize President Obama’s inaugural address commitment to “let clean waters flow” in the world’s poorest nations.
The Declaration on U.S. Policy and the Global Challenge of Water makes the case that water is a critical resource “that will become even more critical in the future.” It also presents evidence that “water is intricately linked to the stability and security of communities and nations, human health, education, economic prosperity, humanitarian relief, and stewardship of the physical environment” and that “water is vital to other key resources essential to the human condition, most notably agriculture and energy.”
Endorsed by over 35 leaders from business, government, and academia, the Declaration recommends the adoption of seven action steps:
The new U.S. president should spearhead a comprehensive and sustained global campaign to address the global challenge of water.
The president should develop an integrated strategy for national action on the global water campaign.
The president should appoint a special high-level representative to lead implementation of the U.S. global water campaign.
The special representative should be directly reinforced by a core team to help guide implementation of the water campaign, in addition to expanded capacities at the Department of State at the behest of the special representative.
The proposed U.S. campaign should be commensurate with the magnitude of the challenge—which means a significant increase in the amount and duration of resources committed under the campaign.
The U.S. government should attempt to energize and catalyze international efforts.
The U.S. government should reinforce public/private-sector partnerships.
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At this very moment, millions of women are carrying 40 pounds of water on the return leg of their average 3.5-mile daily trek. 
GWC focuses on two areas—innovative financing and schools. We believe that by investing in local social entrepreneurs who can work within their communities to find the best solutions we can achieve sustainable results. Our other programmatic focus is increasing access to clean water and safe sanitation in schools in the developing world. Over half the world’s schools lack access to these basic necessities—imagine sitting through school all day without a place to use the bathroom. 
We also realized that it takes only $16 to provide Regan with enough WaterGuard for the year. You can learn more about Regan and how to help at 
Last week a few ONE staffers went to see Senator William H. Frist and Chairman of the Coca-Cola Company E. Neville Isdell launch the 
