Grab Bag Friday: Give Clean Water

I'm pausing my Fair Trade Month Friday posts because today is Blog Action Day, which means that thousands of blogs all over the world will be posting about the same thing: water.

Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. A billion people.

According to charity:water, "unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses.

90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation."

So what can be done? There are great organizations out there trying to help.

This morning, I donated to charity:water. 100% of donations are used for direct project costs. In four years, charity: water has funded over 2000 clean water projects. As little as $20 can give one person clean water for 20 years.

Here are two other organizations doing excellent, innovative work on the clean water front:
PlayPumps
Water.org

Please take a moment today to appreciate the clean water you have, then give even a small donation to help bring safe water to others. Thank you!!