One in eight people in the world lack access to safe drinking water
"It is unconscionable that 850 million people in the world don’t have access to safe drinking water," says David Winder, CEO of WaterAid America. Furthermore, 2.6 billion people — almost two-fifths of the world's population — do not have access to adequate sanitation.
WaterAid America is the U.S.-based member of an international non-profit organization dedicated to building a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation, even in the world’s poorest communities.
 Lack of access to water is a particularly terrible burden on women
In May 2011 Mr. Winder is welcomed to the Future Choices TV show, “Water, Water – NOT Everywhere” to recount why lack of access to safe water is a particularly terrible burden on women, and what WaterAid is doing to improve their lives.
In most developing countries the task of collecting water falls to women and girls. In rural Africa women often walk ten miles or more every day to fetch water. 
Girls as young as 10 years old may take the main responsibility for drawing and carrying the family's water. Carrying such heavy weights is damaging in the long term for adult women, and for girls, there are even more serious implications given their physical immaturity.
Lack of water forces millions of children — particularly girls — across the developing world to miss out on their education.
Women who have no toilet live in a constant state of anxiety as they strive to meet their sanitation needs without losing their dignity. While men and boys are found squatting by roadsides in broad daylight, similar behavior for women and girls is unthinkable.
Many girls drop out of school when they reach their teenage years if private latrines are not available there.
Women and girls are often exposed to sexual harassment and violence as they walk through dark, secluded areas to find water or a private place to go to the toilet.
A 30 year old mother of four from Nigeria described the dilemma: “It is difficult for women. During the day we must walk so far into the bush if we do not want to be seen. At night there is a danger from snakes and scorpions. Sometimes the men follow us and that also makes us afraid.”
Pregnant women sometimes keep on carrying water until the day they give birth, and resume shortly afterwards. Undertaking heavy work so soon after childbirth can be extremely damaging to reproductive health.
For new mothers the lack of water can be excruciating, as Darou Nuri from Ethiopia describes
"It used to be very difficult to even get enough water for drinking and so when you gave birth it was very difficult to get enough water for cleaning the baby and your clothes. There is a fluid called 'atmet' made of barley and water that mothers drink when they give birth. Before it was difficult to make this and mothers would be so thirsty waiting for this drink. When I gave birth to my first child I remember that my mother took seven hours to collect water and so I had to wait for seven hours to get the atmet and it hurt so much."
Darou knows of the changes first hand. Thanks to a WaterAid project, safe, clean water is now on tap in her village, and she had a very different experience when she gave birth to her beautiful baby girl, Neserie. "Now it is very easy as we have plenty of clean water for our needs," she says. "When I gave birth to my youngest everything was ready because we had this clean water. I was able to get the atmet on time and I was able to wash the baby, myself and my clothes straight away."
When is Future Choices aired in your community?
See Local TV schedule for time and channel in each participating community in Westchester County.
| Watch the video: "Water, Water – NOT Everywhere " |
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What WaterAid Does
"We directly help about one million people gain access to safe water and one million people gain access to sanitation every year," Mr. Winder says. "But through our policy and advocacy work to influence governments’ policies and practices, our assistance reaches millions more people ever year.
Since 1981, WaterAid has helped more than 14 million people gain access to safe water.
Our ambition is that by 2015 a further 25 million people will have access to safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation as a direct result of our work; and that by influencing the policies and practices of governments and service providers we will have reached a further 100 million people.
About David Winder
David Winder became WaterAid's CEO, America in January 2010. Dr. Winder’s career has spanned the non-profit, foundation and academic spheres. He started his career in international development as a United Nations volunteer in Chile... |MORE
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