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Women are the waterbearers

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Contributed by: DR. SEAN REIF D.C. on 4/19/2008

Water is an essential element for health and sanitation, and in the developing world, it is usually the women who bear the burden of providing this crucial resource for their families. The poor rural women spend 8- hours a day collecting and carrying more than 40 pounds of water. This is a load that can damage a woman's spine and cause a number of health problems.

Flush toilets can quadruple what a women has to carry. Caring for an AIDS patient increases the burden. 10 % of girls do not attend school when menstruating and many drop out altogether one they reach puberty, because the lack of sanitation at school.

In India, a women spend 150 millions days each year fetching water. If this labor were paid labor, it would add up to as much as $227 million in women's income.

In many 3 rd World countries, safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are almost nonexistent. The World Health Organization estimates that these conditions lead to 6,000 deaths everyday, mostly children. Water For People is an international non-profit development organization dedicated to providing access to safe water and improved sanitation in those countries. WFP is headquartered in Denver and its Executive Director, Steve Werner, is a member of the Denver Southeast Rotary Club.

For almost a decade, the extended Rotary family and Water For People have helped millions of people in the developing world obtain safe drinking water. Projects have included the construction of gravity-fed water systems for communities in Guatemala and arsenic removing filters on village hand pumps in India. Key to all such projects has been the involvement of the local communities.

Our clubs can share in this world wide life saving partnership. Typical projects range from $1,000 to $10,000 for such developments as community hand pumps, school hand-washing stations, household latrines, and health and hygiene education. Water For People can recommend individuals and groups, including Rotary clubs, in developing nations to partner with you. www.waterforpeople.org .

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Submitted By: DR. SEAN REIF D.C.

posted on 4/19/2008 @ 1:03:34 PM

Rated Story

We all need to drink water in order to survive; it is a need even more important than food. We also need water for farming, for proper sanitation, and for so many other aspects of our lives. Water is a precious resource - and it is in jeopardy. In fact, water could eventually be more valuable that gold. Recently, I learned that 1.2 Billion people in this world do not have safe, clean water to drink and that the vast majority of infectious diseases are transmitted through unclean water. 6,000 people die every day for the lack of clean water and proper sanitation. Most are children, who are the most vulnerable to diseases. Rotarians are already doing some excellent work in the area of water management: removing arsenic from water supplies in India; installing water purifiers in schools in Ghana; and manufacturing and installing gravity-fed, slow sand water filtration units in the Dominican Republic and Honduras.

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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

DR. SEAN REIF D.C.

THORNTON , CO

DR. SEAN REIF D.C. has posted 997 stories and 1147 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. DR. SEAN REIF D.C. 's average story rating is 3.08.

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