For many of the world's poor, drinking water can be deadly

Transcription

1 For many of the world's poor, drinking water can be deadly By Addie Morfoot on Word Count 937 Photo: Derek Watson In the United States, sipping water, brushing your teeth and taking a shower are all things we take for granted as harmless, healthy habits. But what if doing any of those things could make you sick sick enough to die? For an estimated 800 million people living in the developing world, that fear is a reality because they do not have ready access to safe, uncontaminated water. About 3.4 million people die each year from water-related diseases, according to the group Water.org. About 70 percent of the surface of the Earth is covered by water and 97.5 percent of that is salt water. Only 2.5 percent is fresh water and of that small amount, more than two-thirds is frozen in the polar ice caps. The remaining fresh water mostly can be found in soil moisture or deep in underground rock formations known as aquifers. Without a well system, it is very difficult to acquire fresh water. Living Without Clean Water Petronella Muelula is one of the 354 million people living in Africa without access to clean drinking water. Petronella is the mother of eight children and lives in rural Zambia a landlocked country on the continent. Although Petronella and her family live surrounded by

2 water on an island in the middle of Lake Bangweulu, her children risk getting sick every time they drink the lake s water. The lake is contaminated, partly because it is being used as a dump for raw sewage. The polluted water not only causes illness, but it also leads to an inability to grow food, build houses and function in everyday life, which contributes to poverty. Petronella walks more than 2 miles each day to collect water for her family. Yet that long trek brings her no closer to a safe water supply. The water she is collecting is contaminated and could kill her children just as it kills close to 5,000 children worldwide every day. When drinking bad water sometimes children can die, so I worry because (my children could) suffer, Petronella told Derek Watson, director of the film "This Is Normal", which chronicles the worldwide water crisis. Deadly Diarrhea One of the main risks of consuming unpurified water is diarrheal disease, which the World Health Organization (WHO) reports kills 1.5 million children every year. WHO also reports that the disease accounts for 1.5 billion bouts of illness per year in children under age 5 living in developing nations where sanitation is poor, hygiene is inadequate and the drinking water is unsafe. Diarrheal disease saps the body of water and salts necessary for survival and causes victims to slowly lose their ability to absorb nutrients. Death from diarrheal disease is caused by severe dehydration and fluid loss. Only pneumonia causes more preventable childhood deaths in the world. Diarrheal disease kills more children every year than HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Diarrheal disease is a lot more of a problem than many people think, certainly in the West, Peter Kolksy, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of North Carolina told Watson. People have been spoiled by the experience that we think of diarrheal disease as something that perhaps happens (on vacation) or we eat in a strange place and get an upset stomach for a couple of days. We then take medications if necessary and then it s resolved. That doesn t reflect the reality (of the disease) killing something like 2 million children every year. A Crisis Ignored In 2006, a United Nations report stated that the number of children dying from polluted water and poor sanitation "dwarfs the casualties associated with violent conflict. Yet, war, gun violence and other forms of conflict get much more attention in the press than fatalities from water-borne illnesses. How can it be that we don t pay attention to the 4,000 to 5,000 deaths happening every day? Kolksy said. I think the general feeling is because it happens every day and it has been happening every day, it s like breathing. It s the way of life for so many people. But a

3 shooting in Colorado or a terrorist attack in New York they are very unusual things, that s news. Whereas the water and sanitation crisis has been grinding on for years and years. But for those who still don t have that access it is still a crisis. Seeking Solutions When Dick Greenly, an Oklahoma businessman who owns a water pump manufacturer, learned about the world water crisis, he decided to do something. I was astounded to discover that a sixth of our world's population is playing Russian roulette every time they take a drink of water, Greenly told Watson. In 2008, Greenly and his wife, Terri, established an organization called Water4. The aim of the organization is to end the global water crisis by training people in countries like Zambia, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Rwanda to drill water wells in their own communities. They do this by equipping people with a low-tech, affordable drilling system that allows them to tap into fresh water underground. Petronella s village is one of many that is now equipped with a fresh-water well. Before we had (this well) we had many child (in our village) with diarrhea, Petronella told Watson. But at this moment it is controlled. Water4 is one of many nonprofit organizations based in the United States trying to resolve the worldwide water crisis and advocate for the sustainable management of fresh water resources. I have hopes and dreams for the future, Petronella told Watson. I hope that my children will grow up and be educated to see that happen would make me the happiest person in the world.

4 Quiz 1 Reread this paragraph from the article: "Diarrheal disease is a lot more of a problem than many people think, certainly in the West," Peter Kolksy, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of North Carolina told Watson. "People have been spoiled by the experience that we think of diarrheal disease as something that perhaps happens (on vacation) or we eat in a strange place and get an upset stomach for a couple of days. We then take medications if necessary and then it's resolved. That doesn't reflect the reality (of the disease) killing something like 2 million children every year." Why does the author say, "That doesn't reflect the reality (of the disease) killing something like 2 million children every year?" To suggest that people in the West are spoiled because they can take medications to ease the symptoms of diarrhea. To show that people in the West are insensitive to the problems that people in developing countries experience. To illustrate that the problem of water-related illnesses is larger than people in the West realize. To emphasize that diarrhea strikes more children than adults every year. 2 According to the World Health Organization, what is one of the main risks of drinking polluted water? pneumonia diarrheal disease tuberculosis malaria 3 After reading this article, what can the reader assume will MOST LIKELY happen in the future? Many people, including children, will continue to get sick or die as a result of drinking polluted water. More people in the United States will buy bottled water. The Zambian government will set aside money and resources to clean up Lake Bangweulu. People will view the water crisis as more important than war and gun violence.

5 4 How will companies such as Water4 help end the global water crisis? They will send clean drinking water to people in developing countries to help prevent water-related diseases. They will provide people in developing countries with equipment to drill for fresh water underground. They will supply medications to cure people of diarrhea caused by drinking impure water. They will donate money and workers to help clean up polluted lakes in Africa.

6 Answer Key 1 Reread this paragraph from the article: "Diarrheal disease is a lot more of a problem than many people think, certainly in the West," Peter Kolksy, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of North Carolina told Watson. "People have been spoiled by the experience that we think of diarrheal disease as something that perhaps happens (on vacation) or we eat in a strange place and get an upset stomach for a couple of days. We then take medications if necessary and then it's resolved. That doesn't reflect the reality (of the disease) killing something like 2 million children every year." Why does the author say, "That doesn't reflect the reality (of the disease) killing something like 2 million children every year?" To suggest that people in the West are spoiled because they can take medications to ease the symptoms of diarrhea. To show that people in the West are insensitive to the problems that people in developing countries experience. To illustrate that the problem of water-related illnesses is larger than people in the West realize. To emphasize that diarrhea strikes more children than adults every year. 2 According to the World Health Organization, what is one of the main risks of drinking polluted water? pneumonia diarrheal disease tuberculosis malaria 3 After reading this article, what can the reader assume will MOST LIKELY happen in the future? Many people, including children, will continue to get sick or die as a result of drinking polluted water. More people in the United States will buy bottled water. The Zambian government will set aside money and resources to clean up Lake Bangweulu. People will view the water crisis as more important than war and gun violence.

7 4 How will companies such as Water4 help end the global water crisis? They will send clean drinking water to people in developing countries to help prevent water-related diseases. They will provide people in developing countries with equipment to drill for fresh water underground. They will supply medications to cure people of diarrhea caused by drinking impure water. They will donate money and workers to help clean up polluted lakes in Africa.