I’m looking at a glass of water sitting next to my computer as I write this. The water, like the glass that holds it, is crystal clear. The water is clean, refreshing, and purified even before it dripped into my Brita water pitcher. At times that glass is filled with sparkling mineral water when it is on sale and can fit into my student budget. At times, like now, when I can’t afford sparkling water, I feel selfishly deprived of a special treat that reminds me of time spent with family in Italy, my second home. Even in a small village in Cosenza, where my parents were raised- fresh, rapid, and natural water would spring from the sila. Sila, a word that has no English translation means a combination of mountains and green hills that surround the many small towns that make up this part of Italy. I remember as a child, we would stop along the many hills at various locations that spouted clean water. My family and I, along with other residents, would fill bottles of the finest water and feel rejuvenated by this clean water source. In the past, this clean water was used to clean my family’s clothes in the fountain closest to my mother’s home, which also served as the meeting place for my parents. Clean water was never an issue for me as a first generation Italian American. If anything, clean water acted at the impetus of my parents’ marriage and my mother’s relocation with my father to America. Therefore, clean water then served to further elevate my status in life, by allotting opportunities to higher education that many children living in Italy, and most particularly its Southern region, are deprived of. As a resident of the Global North, there is never an absence of clean water. Thus, I and all residents of the Global North are protected from water-borne diseases. Due to the abundance of clean water, many of us in the Global North fail to consider clean water as a right or even a privilege. We even unnecessarily purchase bottled water at times, which further pollutes the world. In the Global North clean water is simply another continuous non-conscientious aspect of our existence; a commodity. However, this right is withheld from many living in the Global South, which causes millions of preventable deaths each year. Every day 1,000 children die due to water-borne diseases caused by unclean water (UNICEF, 2015). Throughout the globe, 2.4 billion people live without proper sanitation (UNICEF, 2015). In his media report on clean water, Ban Hi-Moon, the General Secretary of the United Nations, states that 884 million people (40% of the world’s population) lack access to clean and healthy water. Outrageously, water-borne disease are the number one cause of death for children under the age of five globally (UNICEF, 2015). On July 28, 2010, the United Nations declared safe water and sanitation as a human right essential to the health of world citizens. However, access to clean water and sanitation remains a problem plaguing almost half of the world’s population. Why is this important? Because clean water is not simply a commodity, but a necessity to ensure the health and well-being of a world population. Let me reiterate that each day 1,000 children die because they lack access to clean water. Let me reiterate that water-borne diseases are the leading cause of death for children under the age of five. That means that our future generation is dying at a rapid speed due to the absence of drinkable water. I started thinking about their water in comparison to my crystal clear glass of water. I imagined murky water, brown and characterized by a stench that erodes the nose. Water, polluted by human waste, garbage, and industrial pollution. Deadly and dangerous water, more fatal than even a possible bullet wound. This is the type of water 40% of the world's population is drinking. Each day 1,000 children die because they lack access to clean water. It is outstanding that what is viewed as a commodity in many countries is the cause of the death and disease in the Global South. I shirk to think of those 1,000 children each day that die. What if one of them held the answer to world peace or a cure for cancer? Or more simply, what if one those children simply had a smile that could light up the darkest of nights? What makes life in the Global North more important than life in the Global South? UNICEF is working diligently in over 100 countries to establish sanitation and clean water sources. For $140.00 American dollars, UNICEF can provide 10 families a kit to ensure their access to clean water. What can we do to change this horrific reality? For me, this is a time of repentance, and instead of purchasing sparkling water on sale, I will divert my funds into a UNICEF donation savings, so that I can continuously contribute financially to change this insoluble situation causing preventable deaths. I end by asking all of you reading this blog, what can you do to ensure access to clean water and sanitation for 40% of the world’s population? What can we do together to stop the deaths of 1,000 children per day caused by water-borne diseases?
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