World Water Day

Today, March 22, marks the 19th World Water Day and there is a lot to celebrate!  In the past, World Water Day has been a time to raise awareness about the millions of people who do not have access to safe drinking water, and while there are 783 million people who still lack access to safe drinking water, we would like to take today to recognize the incredible progress we have made on this issue.

In 1990, as part of the UN Millennium Development Goals, the world set a target to halve the number of people who do not have access to safe drinking water by 2015. Earlier this year, the UN announced that we have reached that goal- 5 years ahead of schedule.  That means that, between 1990 and 2010, over 2 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources and by the end of 2010, 89% of the world’s population, 6.1 billion people, now have access to safe drinking water- 1% more than the 88% target set in the Millennium Development Goals in 2000.

This incredible progress shows that the work done by governments, organizations, nonprofits, communities, and individuals can, and are, making a real and measurable difference.

Amizade has reason to celebrate, and reason to be proud of our own water efforts as well. The Amizade Spring Semester Service-Learning Course in Tanzania has been hard at work, serving with one of our community partners, Mavuno, to construct another water tank in the district of Karagwe. This will be the fifth 300,000 liter water-harvesting system constructed by Amizade volunteers in Tanzania in addition to 16 smaller family water tanks installed at the homes of survivors of gender-based human rights abuses. We are proud to continue work on these water tanks and excited to see what happens next!

In addition to our work in Tanzania, Amizade volunteers also worked this year to fundraise and complete repairs on a water pump in the village of Anhwiam in Ghana. The completion of the water pipe means that the entire community now has access to safe, clean drinking water.

Amizade is proud to be a part of the global water efforts that have helped the world make such incredible progress towards bringing clean and safe drinking water to the world!

What can YOU do to help Amizade’s water efforts?

Join us for the 5th Annual Water Walks in Pittsburgh, PA on April 7th and in Morgantown, WV on April 21st