Water. Abundant right? Maybe not as much as you may think. The world's fresh, clean water supply is slowly diminishing. As it is, 70% of the globe is covered with water, but only 3% of that water is fresh, and only 1% of that is available for use. The rest is locked up in glaciers. Of that one percent, most is used for agricultural use where water is treated with chemicals that help plants grow faster and with pesticides, which creates toxic runoff that then flows into our freshwater rivers and lakes. Even rainwater isn’t reliable, with gases and plumes from factories polluting the water in the air.

Without water, how would you meet your basic needs? How could you have clean clothes to wear? Or clean dishes to eat from? How would you cook pasta or make coffee? How would you have food at all if there weren’t water for the crops or to give to animals? How would you take a shower or use a toilet?

Even beyond your basic needs, how would you play sports without grass? How could you paint or make ceramics without water? How could you read books or write stories without paper that was created using water?

I challenge you to think about anything manmade or natural that doesn't connect back to water. Think about how, without water, you couldn’t even survive beyond 3 days.

For many people around the world, water is hard to come by. Women and children are especially affected by the lack of clean, available water near their homes, and they often have to walk hours each day to find water. These are hours they could spend working, going to school, or playing. If they’re lucky enough to find water, it’s often contaminated with diseases such as Cholera and Typhoid fever, they often share these water sources with animals and plants that dispose of their waste and sicknesses there.

Charity: Water looks to change this by drilling wells and giving women and children a safe, clean water source close to their homes. Improving their health, giving them time to learn and grow, and being a family. Finally, ensuring that these people are not fighting to stay alive.

Future Problem Solvers and other clubs are collaborating to raise money for Charity: Water. It’s running through May.