For this assignment, I chose to explore the concern of public access to healthy water.
This topic is important to me as an educator of children. This affects all children globally. I drink several bottles of purified water each day,( from my re-usable bottle) and I feel guilty to have access to this privilege when other people/ children do not. Not having access clean water affects children's development, academic progress and health. I feel very strongly in supporting communities world-wide in obtaining clean water and reducing (plastic) pollution. This can be taught at the early childhood stage of life.
I chose to research clean water access consumption in Mexico.
"Tourists are warned not to drink tap water in Mexico but what do locals drink? In Mexico 94% of surface water is contaminated but not everybody can afford to buy purified water." -this is a problem!
This organization has begun a donation bank to aid children of Mexico.
Project Needs and Beneficiaries
The bottled water industry in Mexico is one of the largest in the world causing huge environmental concern as to the amount of waste plastic being produced. Along with discarded plastic bottles, the beaches are littered with rubbish that has been washed up from all over the world.The people of Mexico need to be taught to purify their water and reduce plastic consumption.
We work with the people of Mexico to obtain drinking water without purchasing plastic bottles and encourage families to collect rubbish from beaches. Those participants who collect the most are presented with a water filter to use in the their homes.
"Today’s water crisis is not an issue of scarcity, but of access. More people in the world own cell phones than have access to a toilet. And as cities and slums grow at increasing rates, the situation worsens. Every day, lack of access to clean water and sanitation kills thousands, leaving others with reduced quality of life."
- Diarrhea remains in the second leading cause of death among children under five globally. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is due to diarrhea. It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.
- Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.
- Diarrhea is more prevalent in the developing world due, in large part, to the lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as poorer overall health and nutritional status.
- Children in poor environments often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies at any time.
- In the developing world, 24,000 children under the age of five die every day from preventable causes like diarrhea contracted from unclean water.
- 1.4 million children die as a result of diarrhea
Sources:
UN Water. 2008. Tackling a Global Crisis: International Year of Sanitation 2008
World Health Organization. 2008. Safer Water, Better Health: Costs, benefits, and sustainability of interventions to protect and promote health.
Hi Amy, I also think the issue of not having clean water is important. We are luky that we have clean water to drink. It's unfortunate that so many children don't have access to good water. I think the project that gives water filters to the families who clean up beaches is a good idea, but what about the famlies who don't or can't? Those children need clean water too. I think there should be more of an emphasis on reducing waste in most countries. I read an article stating that a lot of the water that goes into plastic bottles comes from springs and other places that aren't necessarily clean. So even if many Mexicans for example are drinking this bottled water it might be safer than the regular drinking water, but they don't know what they are getting for bottled water either. I wish I could find the article, but it made me not want to drink bottled water again and I haven't since. That article showed results of tests on bottled water here in the US so I'm sure in other countries, they have the same if not worse problems with bottled water as well. I think it's a lot better to purify the natural water we have like they are doing in the project.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy. This has definitely been an interesting lesson about the lack of clean water in Mexico. I think it is great that a organization is teaching them ways to collect clean water and take care of the environment. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing about Mexico. I lived in Mexico for a year and we had to buy water but we used a large glass bottle. The bottle water is not as pure as one would wish it to be but it is the best alternative.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI hope you are safe, from the flooding. When you think about the damage water can do to the land around us it is mind blowing to also realize how bad we need it. Thanks for sharing about Mexico. Have you seen the commercial about plastic bottles? if linked they can circle the world I think it said 8 times. In Honduras, the concern for drilling wells is that the water levels below ground are shallow and if they tap into to much of it they might run out!