by Rebecca Carter, Microist by Ecorazzi

In the past couple of months, I have become immersed in learning about the water crisis and the work of Water.org. Before that time, I’m not sure if I could have even told you exactly what the crisis is. Now I hold the knowledge of the enormity of this issue in developing nations worldwide.

The Facts

• Children: Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness — probably since you started reading this article. This is a horrifying statistic, especially since these are completely preventable given clean water, access to a toilet, and proper hygiene. The incredible news is that this is an improvement over a few years ago, when the statistic was every 15 seconds. That amounts to 1440 lives saved every day.
• Women: Women walk an average of 3.7 miles each day to fetch water for their families. Collectively, this amounts to 200 million hours each day…enough work hours to build 28 Empire State Buildings on a daily basis.
• Sanitation: More people have a mobile phone than a toilet. That’s over one billion people without access to basic sanitation. This is how people are getting so ill.

The Hope

Reading this information can feel daunting, but there is hope. Solutions are practical and available today. Water.org and its co-founders Gary White and Matt Damon established the organisation to work towards safe water and the dignity of a toilet for all, in our lifetime.

Matt Damon says of the issue, “When you make them aware of a problem this serious, but then also make them aware of a solution that’s practical…I think it’s in people’s nature to want to step up and do their part.”

Join Us in Raising Awareness

Ecorazzi has decided to do our part by hosting our Microist Day on March 20, 2012 benefiting Water.org. Microist means micro-activist: On Tuesday, we will dedicate our entire social media presence to spreading the word about the water crisis and the work of Water.org. In order to reach an even larger audience, we hope you will join us and update your status, as well. Sign up here and we’ll send you everything you need to make participating quick and easy. Or simply visit our Resource Guide, grab your favorite status and post! Hashtags are #MicroistDay and #ShowerDrinkFlush

More Ways to Get Involved

• Let Water Day automatically post a status on your Facebook or Twitter daily through March 24.
• Get Involved with the Water.org community. There are many available options from following them on social media to lesson plans for teachers to implement in the classroom.
• Change your Facebook Timeline or Twitter Background for World Water Day.
• $25 provides one person access to clean water for life. Donate what you can.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-water-crisis-a-serious-problem.html#ixzz1plmkwejg