Water...what a precious gift it is, be wise in it's use

Water is vital to all life, but there is not always enough for everyone in the world. Part of our work is helping our partner, AsoFenix, to install solar powered water systems. Since we have been in Nicaragua we have installed one system and there are two awaiting funding. Our systems use solar panels to provide energy to pump water from the well to large storage tanks. From the tanks water is gravity fed to the houses, so women and children no longer have to carry water.

Lately I have been thinking about how as North Americans we take for granted being able to turn on a faucet and have water when we want it. We have never had to walk several miles just to have drinking water or concerned ourselves whether our water is safe. We just assume the water we drink is safe and most likely it is. This month's National Geographic magazine focuses on Water. I thought water issues were bad here in Nicaragua, but it is not nearly as bad as other poorer places in the world (Africa and India). North Americans on average use 100 gallons of water a day, where as the world's poor get by with 5 gallons of water a day (National Geographic, The Burden of Thirst). That is incredible, no?? How about that the majority of the water in poorer countries is not potable, but the people have no other choice because we need water to survive. Around 3.3 million people, mainly children under 5 years old, die yearly due to dirty water, lack of sanitation and proper hygiene (National Geographic, The Burden of Thirst). It seems like providing clean water, proper sanitation and hygiene should be easy, but it does not happen and it is mainly due to lack of money. Check out the National Geographic website http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/04/table-of-contents
The articles I enjoyed the most were The Burden of Thirst and The last Drop.

Water is vital for all life, and with less than 1% of fresh water accessible to all of us (National Geographic, Editor's Note on Fresh Water) we all need to be cautious in how much we use.