We have spent the last few weeks sharing with you the amazing health benefits of taking The Water Challenge, but as we approach kick-off day, we wanted to share with you just how much your support means to us.
You may not know some of the confronting statistics WaterAid works to fix. For example, did you know that 785 million people do not have access to clean water, or that around 310,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation? That's over 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.
Two billion people in the world – one in four – do not have a decent toilet of their own. Can you imagine that? During the pandemic, people were worried about having enough toilet paper, but two billion people don’t even have a decent toilet.
So, what is WaterAid doing about this, and how can your participation in The Water Challenging help us?
We are determined to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere. Without all three, people can’t live dignified, healthy lives. With all three, they can unlock their potential, break free from poverty, and change their lives for good. Children grow up healthy and strong, women and men get to earn a living, whole communities start to thrive. It sounds normal and it should be.
We work in over 30 countries globally with our supporters and partners to get clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene to everyone, everywhere.
WaterAid Australia works in Cambodia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea.
We support people like Navy. Navy is 29 and lives in Cambodia wooden house with her 58-year-old mother, 87-year old grandmother and two brothers. When navy didn’t have an accessible toilet, Navy remembers the heavy rain and her stomach just could not wait any longer so she wheel herself out under the rain.
It was so difficult to wheel on the muddy path. Her wheelchair got stuck in the mud along the way. When she tried digging a hole, she splashed dirty water onto herself. That was an unforgettable moment. Her shoulder hurt so much from digging the hole that she felt as if one of her arms was about to break apart from her body.
Navy is trying to save money to build an accessible toilet, which she hopes will significantly reduce her hardship, especially when it rains or at night time. With a proper toilet, Navy will not have to go out to the field anymore.
"It is an extremely difficult experience for me. I just want to have an easily accessible toilet to use like everyone else does." - Navy
And your role in helping Navy have an accessible toilet? Funds raised for WaterAid could help people just like Navy and others in her community access safe water, sanitation and hygiene, making a lasting difference.
WaterAid has made a huge difference already. Globally between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020 WaterAid reached:
- 182,000 school students reached globally with clean water and 212,000 students reached globally with a decent toilet and 465,000 school students reached globally with hygiene
- 402,000 households reached with clean water and hygiene which equates to 1,910,000 household members
- 1,012,000 people reached with clean water through healthcare centres
