The Unfortunate Reality of Africa’s Water Problem
Intro, statistics- Water scarcity is defined as the lack of sufficient water resources to meet the demands of usage in different regions. Worldwide, 782 million people lack access to safe and sanitary water, 37% of those people live in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to World Health Organization (2006), in 2004, only 16% of those in Africa had access to drinking water through a household connection. According to an estimation done by the United Nations, Africa alone loses 40 billions hours per year collecting water. (World Health Organization, 2015) Currently in Africa over 300 million people have no access to clean water. That is 40% of the total population, and 60% of the population
…show more content…
Volunteer work A good friend of mine, Abbie lumani spent three weeks on the reserves of Kenya with a program called Me to We, the sister company of Free The Children. While in Kenya, she participated in a ‘water walk’ making a 5K trek to gather water for the village. After returning to home, Abbie’s experience facing adversity inspired her to make a difference. Abbie created the organization, “Picture This- Quenching Kenya’s Thirst” a 5K and 10K run to raise money towards clean water projects in Kenya. After hearing Abbie’s story, I couldn’t help but want to get involved to make a difference. On July 8th, 2012 I volunteered to help out which was a wonderful experience, seeing so many people come out to raise money for an amazing cause. Over $10,500 was raised and all proceeds went directly to Free The Children. Everyone was so involved and excited to make a difference, Quenching Kenya’s Thirst launched their second annual 5K and 10K run on July 7th, 2013 which I took part in again and upped the previous years total raising over $14 000. Being a part of this was an amazing experience which gave me a very different outlook on things, and inspired me to continue to get involved to help Africa’s water crisis. Figure 1.2 is a photo captured on July 7th at Gibbons Park, London Ontario.
Quenching Kenya’s Thirst Run Figure 1.2
Water Diseases-
According to the International Water Management Institute environmental research organisation global water stress is increasing, and a third of all people face some sort of water scarcity. Where demand exceeds supply and no effective management operates, there will be conflicts between the various players involved.
According to the Millennium Development Goals Report 2012, “783 million people, or 11 per cent of the global population, remain without access to an improved source of drinking water. Such sources include household connections, public standpipes, boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs and rainwater collections.” (United Nations, 2012) The United Nations Water Conference in 1977 along with a few other conferences, addressed helping approximately “1.3 billion people in developing countries gain access to safe drinking water.” (United Nations, 2012) While there is progress being made, we see that various regions without clean drinking water. Reports show, “In four of nine developing regions, 90 per cent or more of the population now uses an improved drinking water source. In contrast, coverage remains very low in Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa, neither of which is on track to meet the MDG drinking water target by 2015. Over 40 per cent of all people without improved drinking water live in sub-Saharan Africa.” (United Nations, 2012) It is shown that rural areas still lack drinkable water as opposed to urban areas. Consistent improvement has been made to supply populated areas with a reliable source of drinking water. However, research shows, “Coverage with improved drinking water sources for rural populations is still lagging. In 2010, 96 per cent of the urban population used an
Water, like food, is a necessity for human life that is used for many purposes such as agricultural, industrial, and domestic systems. While water is a common element around the world not all of it is clean and able to be consumed or used by humans. With only a percentage of the world’s water being clean and the use of water increasing, the availability of water around the world has become a common issue in the developing and even the developed world. This may be a smaller problem in areas close to clean water sources compared to areas far from a clean water source but, the availability of water is not strictly based on location, it also depends on the specific political and social needs and issues of the area as well. These all become issues that must be accounted for when deciphering whether water is a basic human right or a commodity and what action must be taken to aid the developing water systems in community’s that lack them.
Nearly half the states in the U.S. are abnormally dry. This is a situation that will be happening until the world ends. By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world's population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change (“Clean Water Crisis, Water Crisis Facts, Water Crisis Resources”). This is something very serious to think about. We will be looking this problem directly in the face in less than 10 years unless we all make a conscious effort to significantly cut down on the amount of water we use. For a lot of third world countries, this water shortage problem is something that affects daily life. 319 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are without access to improved reliable drinking water sources (The Water Project). That's more people living without adequate water conditions, than the total population of the United States in 2014. As an American myself, the
Two out of every five people living in Sub-Saharan Africa lack safe water. A baby there is 500 times more likely to die from water-related illness than one from the United States. This is a serious ongoing issue that requires the rest of the world to take action. Water spreads diseases easily if the necessary precautions are not taken. Many developing African countries don’t have sewage treatment, or the people don’t have methods to filter and disinfect. Once a person is sick either there is no way to cure them, or medical care is too expensive, so they are left untreated with a high risk of death. Although many believe that the fight for sanitary water in Africa is insurmountable, people in these developing countries can overcome their challenge to access clean water and avoid water-borne diseases through proper sewage treatment facilities, universal water filtration and medical care.
Have you ever thought about how much water you waste each day? If you haven't, than that is pretty normal. People in America have it so good here because they can just walk to a fossate and get clean water. But in other parts of the world it is not that easy. They have to walk long treks just to get water that is not even clean.
My long-range goals and career ambitions after graduating from Butler Community College include attending Wichita State University, receiving my Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education and continuing on with a career as a middle school English teacher. For the longest time I didn't have a clue of what I wanted to pursue as a career. I had planned on going to veterinarian school due to my love of animals. After nearly passing out during a surgery observation, I reconsidered my options. Through an internship program at Valley Center high school, I discovered my love for teaching. Blessed with the opportunity to work with a middle school English teacher and her classes, I was able to witness a teacher who was passionate about what she taught. She also truly cared for each one of her students and from personal experience, that is the key to being a good teacher.
There is a water crisis which faces many parts of the world and it is a threat to survival of human beings since humans are primarily dependent on water. Shortage in drinking water is beginning to show its effects in first world countries, but is a current major problem facing lesser developed countries which have not taken drastic steps to harvest water and purify it to make it safe for human consumption. In developed countries the population growth has strained available water resources and stretched the ability of governments and private firms to provide safe drinking water to the vast majority of the population. Seventy one percent of
Dr. Seuss was an amazing author and illustrator. He was also so much more. Dr. Seuss was born March 2, 1904 in Springfield, MA. His parents named him Theodor Seuss Giesel. His mother's name was Henrietta Seuss Giesel. His father's name was Theodor Rober Giesel. Dr. Seuss had one sibling, who was a sister. His sister's name was Marnie Giesel.
The world’s supply of water is in steep decline as more and more is being used each year by more and more people around the globe. Currently, 800 million people do not have access to a drinking source. At the current rate, 1.8 billion people could be living in areas of absolute water scarcity by 2025.
The West African nation of Niger has experienced one of the worst water crisis in the world that has left the population malnourished and in poverty. Location, climate and political instability can be attributed to the water scarcity, which not only leaves the nation lacking water, but in a state of underdevelopment. However, many non-government organisations have supported the nation and its people.
The average American uses about 176 gallons of water in one single day, while in Africa, 660 million people see just one sip as a luxury, states Kristen Lewis in the article entitled “THIRST” for the 2016 Scholastic Scope. Without water, people cannot carry out daily activities and struggle to survive. The water crisis in Africa is an expanding problem in our world that continues to affect millions of people each day; fortunately, this crisis has caught the attention of The Water Project, a nonprofit organization in the United States that raises money to solve water crises around the world. The Africa water crisis has come about due to several factors that create negative outcomes for the citizens of Africa, but The Water Project is doing all they can to resolve these issues.
Incivility is defined as, any type of disruptive classroom behavior that shows disrespect or a disregard for the instructor and fellow-students. There are many different uncivil actions that can take place in a college setting. Some being more serious than others, but ranking any type of behavior is subjective to the professor and the peers enrolled in that specific course. Teachers create a syllabus touching on classroom rules and behaviors that are expected throughout the semester. Technology, mostly cell phone and laptop use in the classroom-becoming commonplace, there is almost always a section dedicated to this topic.
The purpose of this research paper is to discuss the water crisis in the region of Africa and how water can cause many other problems such as inadequate sanitation, poverty and diseases for the population. People living in third world countries are suffering from the water crisis that has become a major problem for the United Nations, World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund, Millennium Development Goals and many of the other organizations. For some of these organizations have been successful in providing a bit more water through the years it’s still a working process. Water is essential for life, it’s not just for the body’s physical need; yet millions of people do not have access to clean water. The lack of accessible of fresh water contributes too many diseases such as HIV, AIDS, waterborne diseases, causing the death of millions of women and children annually in the region. This is making it harder for the communities to develop a safer home for their families and to improve the conditions of the country. This research paper will examine the problems, solutions and causes. How it all comes together, to contribute to this water crisis and to weather there is a solutions set by the United Nations, studies that have been conducted and other organizations, which can maybe work for the years to come. In addition, the same water problems are going to be discussed with regard to Africa for statics, examples and quotes done by the organizations in the past and
Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of water usage within a region. It already affects every continent and around 2.8 billion people around the world at least one month out of every year. More than 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. Water scarcity involves water stress, water shortage or deficits, and water crisis. While the concept of water stress is relatively new, it is the difficulty of obtaining sources of fresh water for use during a period of time,result in further depletion and deterioration of available water resources. Water shortages may be caused by climate change, such as altered weather patterns including droughts or