According to the CIA World Factbook, bacterial diarrhea is a very high risk of death to citizens of Togo. Lack of clean drinking water, hygiene regimens, and adequate sanitation systems are all linked to the spread of diarrhea in Togo.

Giving the gift of clean water is equivalent to giving a child, a mother, even a family, a chance at life in rural villages of West Africa.

BCB is at work building solar powered water pumps in Koussougba and surrounding villages in Togo. Part of  BCB’s work includes educating women on proper hygiene methods that women can share with families and other villagers.

Bringing clean drinking water to a rural village in West Africa or elsewhere is not the answer to reducing mortality rates from water-borne diseases in developing countries.

Clean water projects must be supplemented by a comprehensive hygienic and sanitation framework that addresses underlying causes of infection.

Without a water source, farmers cannot grow food. Mothers cannot cook balanced meals for their families. And perhaps the worst casualty that results from a lack of clean drinking water is the lose of time.

Walking to the next village or to the local water well takes hours away from women who could otherwise invest their time in entrepreneurial ventures that generate income for the family.

Instead, women in rural villages that do not have a clean water source are forced to walk miles for water. Of course, treks for water outside of her local village are very dangerous for women.

Women are exposed to innumerable dangers, simply for the sake of retrieving water for their families. Sadly, the water that she fetches may still be infected with microorganisms that cause diarrhea and other water-borne diseases.

Investing in clean water for rural villages in Africa and beyond is an investment in public health, gender equality, economic development, and environmental sustainability.

Access to safe water touches upon every level of human existence. Training women on effective methods to prevent the spread of communicable and life-threatening diseases is also a fundamental element to ending poverty in Togo and other parts of West Africa.

For every $50 that BCB raises for clean water projects in Togo, the Segal Foundation will match that gift up to $10,000.

There are still seven days, 189 hours, 11, 340 minutes, 680, 400 seconds to help BCB raise as much money as possible to improve the lives of women, children, and families in Togo.

The positive outcomes from investments in water and women in Togo are immeasurable. It takes a village to raise a child. But it also takes a healthy mother, a clean water source, and a sustainable solution to raise a healthy child.

Will you help BCB raise $5,000 by Friday, April 15, 2011?

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BCB founder Enyonam Nanevie sent a warm message to attendees via streamline video from Togo. Nanevie said, “….we are linked by an invisible thread to one belief, one stance, that water means life. Water is sacred and worthy to be celebrated by the entire world, together on this day.”

Yesterday, Naneive announced that BCB installed its first solar energy water pump in Koussougba. BCB engages women in the process of educating local residents on proper health and sanitation practices that prevent contamination in communal water resources.

“Twelve hundred people in the village of Koussougba of Togo will not have constant access to clean running water. Let us join with the women, men, and children of Koussougba to joyfully celebrate their newly acquired access to clean water which will mean a better life for all,” encouraged Naneive.

A crucial facet of decreasing mortality from water-borne diseases is encouraging villagers to use latrines and hand washing stations. Quite literally, one hand washes the other when it comes to proper sanitation methods complementing the installation of a clean water source.

Access to clean drinking water is affecting the functionality of villages, communities, and countries across the world. Often, the amount of information on water shortages, mortality rates from water borne diseases, and expenses for clean water provision is overwhelming.

The average New Yorker may wonder to herself, “How can my decisions and contributions to water causes truly make a difference in the world?” Yesterday, BCB in solidarity with water organizations across the world demonstrated how commitment and great acts of kindness make a meaningful impact to communities across the world.

Recognizing the human right to water requires that every able-bodied individual advocate for clean water access for all people. Digging water wells and conducting training to remote communities on the ground may not be carried out by the average U.S. citizen. But, mobilizing resources to non-profits equipped to carry forth this mission can be.

Supporting organizations that represent the U.S.’s commitment to clean water provision is a feat that can be accomplished by all. Concerted effort to provide water for cities is not an impossible mission. It is one that can only be achieved in solidarity with organizations such as BCB.

Nanieve concluded saying, “I end with a dream flung to the stars and the universe that one day on our beloved earth, all human beings everywhere, will have access to clean, vital, sacred, life-sustaining water.”

World Water Day 2011 was ultimately a success as water organizations made the cause of clean water known. But what will follow the promises, pledges, and excitement followed by the events of March 22, 2011?

Will you commit to upholding the human right to water?

The photo above was uploaded to highlight the importance of clean water. WaterWideWeb is not directly promoting bottled water.

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Children in poor countries often have up to 1,000 parasitic worms in their body due to lack of clean drinking water. A five minute shower in America requires more water than a typical person in the developing world uses in one day according to statistics by Water.org. Some of these children will not live to see Santa Clause coming to town. You can change that.

Water.org is a non-profit organization that was co-founded by actor Matt Damon and social entrepreneur Gary White. This holiday, Water.org is offering seasonal shoppers the opportunity to give two of life’s greatest gifts, health and hygiene.

Nicole Wickenhauser is the Sr. Communications and Development Manager of Water.org. In a telephone interview, Wickenhauser told WaterWideWeb, “You can change someone’s life with just a $25 donation”.

Please watch the video of Water.org’s work in Bangledesh here

Donations from holiday givers to Water.org are allocated to community water projects in South East Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Investing in health and hygiene this holiday season is a dual offense to combating mortality rates from water-borne diseases in the developing world.

Research from Water.org concludes that almost one billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water, while 2.5 billion people do not have access to a toilet. Research also indicates that lack of sanitation is the world’s leading causes of infections.  A majority of the world’s illnesses are caused by fecal matter. The cholera outbreak in Haiti is an unfortunate example of the dire consequences witnessed when proper programs are not instituted to keep drinking water and sanitation systems to separate.

Water needs and sustainable solutions to meet those needs vary according to the region and community serviced. Water.org works with local partners who can identify a community’s specific needs and trouble shoot methods to meet them appropriately. These local partners are trained on maintenance repairs and other services needed to maintain the operation of the water service after it is implemented.

“We conduct surveys to ensure that projects are effective. We follow up on our programs and monitor the water point’s functionality at all times,” said Wickenhauser. Efforts launched by Water.org include education on hygiene practices and their link to public health. Informing community members on the importance of hand washing and other personal hygiene regimens goes hand in hand with addressing underlying issues like infection and mortality.

In the developing world, 90 percent of deaths from diarrheal diseases occur in children under 5 years-old. For them, holiday will not be the fan fare that other people enjoy. This holiday, consider a giving the gift of health and hygiene to children who can’t live another day without it.

The water crisis causes more deaths than wars cause fatalities. Individually, we may not have the ability to bring peace to warring nations, but we do have a chance to save more lives than on the battlefield. As a holiday gift, it is the gift of life.  

What’s on your holiday list this season?

Would you consider investing in health and hygiene?

Other articles on WaterWideWeb.org that you may enjoy:

Student NGO Builds Wells in India

Bridging Water and Education in Kenya

UNICEF Targets Latino Community in Awareness Campaign

Repairing Water Wells in Africa

Please read WaterWideWeb.org’s newest series on Nautical Archaeology:

Part I-Nautical Archaeology Threatened by Trawling

Part II-UNESCO Works to Preserve Nautical Archaeology

*All media in this article was provided by Water.org

By the end of 2007, Zaparde and Petrovic raised $1,000 to dig a well in Paras, India. The two raised money by hosting bake sales and car washes. After the first well was built in Paras, Zaparde and Petrovic continued their water work in other rural villages. In a telephone interview Zaparde told WaterWideWeb, “On the drive to Paras in 2007, I saw at least 25 other villages with the same problem. I figured, if we can help one village, we can help more”.

Currently, DWI partners with schools in New Jersey and other states to raise awareness and funding for well projects in India. “We just want to show other students that young people their age are struggling just to find clean drinking water”, said Zaparde.

DWI builds wells close to schools to maximize the number of people who can access clean water from the well. Residents in neighboring villages can find water at the well without traveling extensive distances in search for clean water.

“Digging wells near schools makes the most sense. Students in schools without clean water access have to sit through an entire day without water. Now, students can bring water home to their families at the end of the day”, continued Zaparde.

Maintenance of water wells is an important facet of the work of DWI. Water wells are used constantly. Villagers sometimes use the well from early as 3 a.m. until midnight. DWI works with village leaders, appointed by local community members, to ensure that the well is functional at all times. Village leaders have the contact number for DWI personnel who can respond as swiftly as possible to a broken well.

Fundraising campaigns of DWI allocate money specifically for repairs if the well should break. “We set aside a certain amount of money so that we are there and ready to respond if a well breaks”, assured Zaparde.

The DWI project is an exceptional example of the social change mobilized by grassroots student-led movements. When it comes to clean water, anyone can make a difference in the life of rural villagers and school children.

Photo Credit: All photos in this article belong to DrinkingWaterforIndia.org

The work of DWI impacts local communities in several capacity. DWI provides a water resource, which in turn, alleviates the strain of finding water. Women, who typically are responsible for finding clean water, can dedicate the precious resource of time, to duties other than water gathering.

Mortality from water-borne diseases such as typhoid fever and bacterial diarrhea will decrease when projects such as DWI expand their work in developing countries. Children can attend school on a regular basis, without worrying if there will be enough water to be comfortable throughout the school day.

Water impacts a community from the ground up—literally. Simply providing clean water has implications for community members at all levels. The structure of these remote villages will develop over time. As water-borne diseases decrease, education and life expectancy will increase.

Questions arise about the work of governmental municipalities responsible for remote village’s water supply when reviewing the work of DWI. Are governmental programs monitoring the complex issues that undermine social and economic development in the rural communities of India?

NGOs and other non-profit organizations can certainly make a difference by supplying the immediate water need of villages. But, legislation and federal regulation of water policy must be implemented and enforced if a sustainable solution to India’s water shortage problems is to be reached.

The short-term effects of water projects in India’s remote villages will relieve the daily task of walking two miles or more to find water, water which may not even be safe for consumption. Over time, the literacy rates in these rural communities will increase. Two symptoms of poverty, illiteracy and unsafe water, will be assuaged.

Efforts to provide clean drinking water to communities that aren’t read about in major newspapers or featured on news specials can be undertaken by any individual. However, a balanced response to water issues must enlist the support of local governments, community members, and aid agencies if a sustainable future for these communities is sought.

Communities can change from within but there must be a solid infrastructure to fit that change from the outside. How can governmental programs reach even the remotest villages in their country? Will that be left up to projects like DWI? Or, will the work of DWI inspire a renewed sense of responsibility for a nation’s people across the socio-economic strata? Unfortunately, only time will tell.

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Civil and environmental engineers are advancing techniques in water management. Sharing best practices in project implementation is crucial to the future of sustainable water projects in both the industrialized and developing world. How are environmental engineers tackling the mounting social issues that surround the water demands that exceed the supply of it?

Dr. Pedro Alvarez is the George R. Brown Professor and Chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of Rice University. In a telephone interview, Alvarez told WaterWideWeb, “Ensuring reliable and affordable access to safe water is one of the biggest issues that we face in the twenty first century.”

Making clean water accessible in the developing world requires an increase in efficiency in water infrastructure and a decrease in materials and energy used for completing projects. Environmental engineers are developing innovative mechanisms to meet the growing water demands with several factors in mind.

Adjustments to existing and new water systems call for technical simplicity. In order for water systems to successfully supply a community with water, the framework should be uncomplicated so that maintenance to the system can be provided without requiring assistance of experts.

The social-cultural acceptability of new water initiatives plays a part in the success of particular engineering endeavors. Reframing the way people think about the significance of water and the means of acquiring it are the next steps in innovative water provision methods.

For example, implementing water recycling paradigms in developed countries may be met with resistance. Individuals in different cultures and social classes may oppose the trend of treating waste water and then recycling it for drinking water.

Information about water engineering projects should also be disseminated so that end users may understand the framework of water programs and share the technology with others at the local level. In this way, the project can be maintained from within the community. If the water system needs repair, local users can fix the problem without forgoing access to water for long spells until an expert arrives to remedy it.

“Technology is not enough. Responding to increasing water demands requires a multi-disciplinary effort that includes education and a sanitation plan”, continued Alvarez. Reliance on unconventional water sources and treatment plants are the next steps in global water sustainability.

“The single-most important engineering contribution of the twentieth century was treating water.” In the twenty first century, engineers must extend and enhance that contribution to meet growing water needs.

Digging water wells, installing chlorinators and bio-sand filters are proven methods of supplying safe water in the developing world, yet these are not sufficient to save the lives of 4100 children who die on a daily basis due to lack of clean drinking water . Clean water will decrease the mortality rate of water borne diseases, lengthen life expectancy and improve quality of life.

So what are we waiting for?

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In Cote D’Ivoire and Uganda, the risk for water-borne diseases like typhoid, bacterial diaherrea and Hepatitis A is very high. The school life expectancy for Ivoirians is a total of six years and for Ugandans is 10 years. With access to clean, safe and reliable water, these Ivoirians could return to school and live past the life expectancy of 56 years-old. With clean water, Ugandans could outlive the life expectancy of 52 years-old.

Charity: water (C:W) is a non-profit organization that brings clean water to communities in Africa and other parts of the world. In 2009, C:W completed 1,058 water projects with 150 water points rehabilitated in 11 countries. Last year, C:W rehabilitated wells in Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia, Uganda, Honduras, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Central African Republic and Ethiopia. According to the 2009 progress report, water resources were restored to 63, 143 people.

In an interview , the Water Projects Manager Jonna Davis told WaterWideWeb, “If there is an opportunity to rehabilitate an existing non-functional water point in an area with great need, then we think that’s a worthwhile investment…”

Charity: water works with partners in local regions who report non-functional wells that can be rehabilitated. These local partnerships ensure that the community where the water well was dug is served after the initial relief effort was launched.

“An old broken water point can often be a sign of failure for a community and bringing it back to an improved service is much more practical than building a new project right next to it” confirmed Davis.

Clean water affects communities such as Cote D’Ivoire and Uganda on an immediate and long-term basis. Water wells need repair every few years. Hence, digging a well is the first step to managing the issues of public health, safety, and social development that hinder progress in these countries.

When a community has a reliable water source, markers of development are noticed in the daily life of residents. Children can attend school and women can spend time on duties unrelated to fetching water. Scarce water resources means that choices between a clean school uniform, a watered garden, or cooking a meal must be made for the short supply of water that a family survives on daily.

Functional wells in local villages ensure the safety of women in vulnerable areas of the globe. If a well breaks and water is unavailable, women and girls are forced to walk long distances to fetch water for their families. They leave home before the sun rises and are at risk for rape and physical assault on the long roads to a water source outside of their village.

On the outskirts of these villages, roads are not patrolled by security forces. Young women and girls face grave danger for the sake of finding clean water. The trek to fetch clean water can take hours, which may have been spent getting an education or working for their family. The livelihood and wellbeing of women in developing nations is largely affected by access to water. If water wells break in their community, they suffer immensely.

“Our primary concern is providing clean and safe water access where it is most needed.  If there is an opportunity to rehabilitate an existing nonfunctional water point in an area with great need, then we think that’s a worthwhile investment since rehabilitation generally costs less than constructing a brand new point of access” Davis continued.

The safety of women and girls who live in internment camps as internally displaced peoples or refugees, as is the case in Cote D’Ivoire, is affected by their ability to find water. Water is a non-violent solution to protecting the vulnerable members of these dangerous and war-torn communities.

Charity: Water is enhancing their water well rehabilitation practices to keep water flowing in communities of greatest need. Mobile programs where trained technical provisions can travel to different villages and service broken wells are in the works.

For women and girls in conflict countries with high rates of water borne diseases, water is part of their survival in an undeniable way. Providing water is the first step to securing their livelihood. Keeping the water flowing is the never-ending second step. It is an investment with a return incalculable in numbers and figures, but in quality of life.

The picture above provided by Biliana Rakocevic.

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Do you think building new water wells is more important that rehabilitating nonfunctiong ones?

What are your thoughts on well maintenance and water projects in the developing world?

Dr. Teofilo Montiero is the Environmental Health and Sustainable Development Advisor of the Pan American Health Organization in Bogota, Colombia. In a telephone interview, Montiero discussed the waste water management issues in Colombia and suggested a targeted action plan to address the nation’s water issue.

The Indigenous and Afro-Colombians are the most vulnerable groups impacted by lack of water in Colombia. These communities, along with other Pacific coast residents, live far away from Colombia’s municipalities like Bogota and Medellin.  Hence, their water resources are at best limited, and at the worst non-existent.

“Some of these people don’t even have running water or flush toilets” said Montiero. As a consequence, these historically marginalized and displaced groups, face public health risks such as bacterial diarrhea.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a list of eight goals set in 2000 by the United Nations and agreed upon by world leaders. UN member states aim to achieve these goals by 2015. Initiatives include reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, and eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. The former goals are contingent upon effective water management systems.

 “Overall, Colombia will achieve the MDGs. But in specific areas where indigenous and Afro-Colombians live, there will still be a problem locally” asserted Montiero.

Waste water management has taken a toll on both the local and national level in Colombia. Isolated communities function without access to water resources and hydroelectric power was compromised because of untreated solid waste in the water. Hydroelectric power is a major source of energy in the country. The contamination level of the Bogota River was once so critical that the production of energy was interrupted.

President Juan Manuel Santos spoke in Cali, Colombia earlier this month on environmental and water concerns. The President noted that Colombia has, “immense water reservoirs but they are managed very badly.” Santos proposed that a Ministry of the Environment, independent of other ministries, be instituted.

Currently, the Ministry of the Environment, Housing, Water, and Local Development serves as an umbrella for individual public works programs. The Vice Ministry of Water is a smaller organ of an overarching ministry which oversees policy and programs related to the environment, housing, water and local development.  

Private sector companies are involved in the waste water management problem that Colombia faces. Clearford Industries Inc. is a Canadian-based global waste water management company. Clearford Industries Inc. finalized agreements in September of this year to use their technology in the Valle de Cauca region of Colombia. In San Pedro and Cerrito, where Clearford Industries Inc. will render their services, 25,000 people still live without sewage systems.

In a telephone interview, Bruce Linton of Clearford Industries Inc. described the company’s involvement in San Pedro and Cerrito. “There is a basic governmental sanitation program in Colombia which grants a quarter of a million dollars per 3,000 people if a waste water management program is implemented.

Clearford Industries Inc. will apply their technology and employ local labor to complete the project. When asked if fair wages would be provided, Linton answered, “There is a corporate policy approved by the Board which stipulates that employment practices must be held to the Canadian law standard. Meaning, if it isn’t legal in Canada, it isn’t legal wherever Clearford operates.”

Colombia has made progress with sanitation and water concerns over the past ten years but there is a need for sustainable development practices and infrastructure to support their programs. A concerted effort to provide communities with access to running water and sanitation systems in the 21^st century is imperative.

For Colombia, water affects health, sanitation, energy and their lush tropical lands. Colombia is known for its biodiversity. More than 3,000 species of wildlife, plants and fauna are native to the South American paradise  and depend upon appropriate water resources for survival.

The country has the capacity and technological advancements necessary to meet the MDGs at the local, regional and national level by 2015. An integrated response to Colombia’s water program requires a collaborative response from the government, as well as public and private sectors. 

If successful, the restructuring of Colombia’s water program could serve as a model for other countries with similar waste water concerns.

The photo of indigenous Colombians above is a UN photo taken by Mark Garten.

“The potential water resources of the country are estimated at 4,670 million m3/year. The total volume that can be accessed is 3,100 million m3/year. The annual per capita water availability in Tunisia is about 489 m3, which is below the threshold for water scarcity (1,000 m3/year). Water resources are unevenly distributed across the country” (Source: http://www.idrc.ca/uploads/user-S/11470949291PhD_thesis__Final__of_Maher_Abu-Madi_22_June_2004.pdf). Water scarcity becomes heavily problematic for areas of the country that have an economy concentrated on agriculture.

On June 17, The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the Northern Tunis Wastewater Project for US$ 8.03 million. The goal of the project is “to reduce the environmental impact of treated wastewater dischared into the Gulf of Tunis by building a submarine outfall” (Source: http://www.emwis.org/thematicdirs/news/tunisia-northern-tunis-wastewater-project).This project also hopes to ameliorate the quality of treated wastewater so it can later be reused for agriculture.The project is devided in three parts, the first component consists in the Transfer of the Treated Wastewater (TWW) with the hopes to augment the quantity of water being reused for agriculture. The treated wasterwater will need to be transfered from its current discharge point to a storage basin from where it will me treated and made available from agriculture purposes. The second branch of this initiative consists is “the improvement of the discharge of the remaining TWW in the Mediterranean Sea” (Source: http://www.emwis.org/thematicdirs/news/tunisia-northern-tunis-wastewater-project). Finally, the last component of this project is the monitoring of alla ctivities in order to later implement “capacity strenghtening”. This part of the project is crucial to the long-term success of this initative insofar it is installs a mechanism of coordination amongst all the various agencies working together and establishes the much needed water quality monitoring systems in order to be able to have a report and to trace the evolution of the process. This project is mostly financed by”a World Bank loan of US$52 million and a GEF grant of US$8.03 million. The Tunisian Government is contributing about US$ 8.6 million” (Source: http://en.greenplanet.net/lifestyle/eco-sustainability/1699-tunisia-two-new-projects-for-water-and-environment.html).

The Natural Resource Management Project focuses its actions on the rural environmental sector; the goal is to ameliorate the living conditions of the local communities,  to develop and implement more efficient infrastrctures and better services without forgetting the importance of encouraging income-generated activities. Another facet of this project is to try to limit the damages produced by soil degradation in specific areas of the country. This development initiative will be launched in collaboration with the local commissioners for agricultural development (CRDA). The success of this project depends on the capacity for all organisations to cooperate but most importantly coordinate their efforts in order to maximise ressources and capabilities.

Agriculture contributes substantially to the economy of Tunis and the water pollution is directly participating to the issue of water scarcity. In partnership with the local government, last month, the World Bank has agree to give a US$52 million loan in order to finance the Northern Tunis Wastewater Project. This initiative will not only focus on ameliorating the quality of water and work of rendering wastewater reusable for agriculral puporses; but will also launch a series of initatives for long-term development sustainability on the territory.