What does World Water Day mean to me. It means a day of living without bottled water, without tap water, without showers, without indoor plumbing. Living like over 1 billion people live every day. I am blessed by the resources I have been given at my disposal. The Declaration of Independance sums up best what I believe, "all men are created equal." That quote has always stuck with me throughout my life.
This Friday isn't about the statistics. If we listened to statistics then we would believe that over 1 billion people live without access to clean water, this is misleading. The Dominican Republic is a place where 87 percent of the country has access to clean water, yet they can not drink it from their taps. They have to go and buy bottled water from a store and that is considered access. The city supply that is piped into peoples homes is only available 8 hours a day 3 days a week, if they are lucky. The city supply also is full of harmful bacteria and particles that make you second guess even washing your hands with it. There is more work to be done to improve the water in this country before it should be considered clean by human standards.
World Water Day is about remembering the history of the clean water movement and those who have given their lives to this cause. I read a story today about Perveen Rahman today and her work in the poor districts of Pakistan. She went against the flow and helped bring low cost sanitation methods to Karachi, Pakistan and in the process improved the lives of over a million people. A few hours after I first read about her I head that she was shot dead in the same community that she dedicated her life to improve. This World Water Day should be made in her honor for the work she did to improve the lives of so many. I am sure every last one of us in the water business look up to her for the work she was able to do.
So I realize I havent said much about what World Water Day is. It's a simple idea. It is the one day a year we protest the fact that so many people have no access to clean water or have to relay on bottles of water. We protest by getting together and talking about the issues we face and how we can solve them. We also give up drinking bottles of water, some are going so far as to give up water for the entire day. Some are giving up using indoor plumbing for the day to protest unsanitary conditions a lot of the world faces. Quite a few of us are also giving up showering as a way to protest. No matter how you protest it, it's all for the same cause. Raise awareness on this Friday March 22nd and let everyone know why your protesting. Join us and help us remember Perveen Rahman.
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