The Sad Truth about Water

Water is a luxury that we (Americans/the Western world) take for granted.  Showers, dishes, drinking water, car washes, toilets, washing machines, swimming pools, water fountains, ice cubes, decorative fountains---all things that take water, whether or a lot or little, that we don't bat an eye at.  Water is plentiful---for us.  In the majority of the world, clean water is scarce.  Do you realize just how scarce it is?  Check out these facts from Compassion International:

*50% of the world's hospitalizations are due to water-related illnesses such as cholera.

*One in five children (TWENTY PERCENT OF ALL CHILDREN!) worldwide die from diarrhea---that's more than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined.

*Poor people living in the slums often have to pay five to ten time more per liter of water than wealthy people living in the same city.

*2.5 million people do not have adequate sanitation facilities.

*800 MILLION PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER.

*1.5 million children die of water-borne illnesses every year.

These numbers are absolutely staggering.  I can't even comprehend the suffering that is happening worldwide.  Life is cozy and safe here.  Kids aren't dying because they don't have water.  People aren't begging in the streets for clean water.  We are isolated from this worldwide epidemic.  We can choose to not be isolated.  There are ways to help.  Blood Water: Mission is a ministry that our family supports that builds wells for impoverished areas of Africa.  Check out this video to learn more about what they do and how you can help.

Our friends the Palms have a heart for Uganda and particularly an unsanitary holding area for orphans that lacks clean water.  Read their story here and get involved by giving $20 to their cause.

We all need to do something.  Please, get involved and save a life.