Save lives, provide safe water

I don’t know how many million people are aware about March 22 big event. Or is there anyone? Well, I’m informing everybody that it is World Water Day occuring each year as declared by United Nations General Assembly Resolution. Still puzzled? Still you don’t care? Safe water might not be an issue to most of readers here. Or maybe I am just getting a wrong notion. And correct me if I am wrong. I just wanted to become one of those people increasing the awareness of others on how poor people across the world live or shall I say “struggling to live” despite the unequal opportunities such as lack of access to safe and sufficient water.  According to Food and Agriculture Organisation of UN, 1 out of 5 persons in developing countries lack access to sufficient and safe water.

This is a poverty issue. It is alarming. Especially, when people forcibly fled from their homes and livelihoods due to natural disaster and armed conflict (such as Sudan, Chad, Indonesia, Philippines and alikes) mostly dies because of unsafe water-related diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, etc. Usually, the most at risk are women, elderly, physically challenged, and children. They suffer most, above all.

With these fast and changing world, safe water for drinking and sanitation is not the only problem faced by many especially from rural. Insufficient water for their livelihood is already an issue when irregularities of weather (extreme droughts and flooding) strucks. Traditionally, farmers in developing countries rely on water rainfall. Then a source from irrigation helps them to cope a bit. However, poor and small farmers can’t afford irrigation. Last time, when I visited group of farmers in a rural village, they told me that there are number of farmers who stopped cultivating their land because of lack of water. They said, the volume of water coming from the nearby river is unreliable now unlike years before. Irrigation is expensive in developing countries. They need support on small infrastructure to provide a water stopper and direct sufficient volume of water coming from the river directly to fed their farm. Farming is their main livelihood. They need water for it. Water for their farm means increase income for their children’s education, health, and secured living.

This make me felt that water, indeed, is a poverty issue. That everybody should act upon it. Sometimes, I think that, how I wish UN declared World Water Day Everyday because the underpriviliged needed it more than we know.

On the other hand, I am thankful to people and organisation who help the people address water problems together with other issues on conflict, gender, and others – e.g. Oxfam which specialised in water and sanitation globally for the poorest of the poor. I just hope the government is doing their duties/responsibilities more proactively  and not only reactively.

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