From Emma: Why water?

Here in the US we take a lot of things for granted, like having clean drinking water readily available. For most of us it's as simple as walking to the sink and turning on the tap.

As you may or may not know, I'm that weird person who likes to study infectious diseases, and parasites in particular. In my various researches, I have come to appreciate the value of clean water, as I have seen how much it impacts the spread, treatment, and prevention of infections that are life threatening (like cholera) and disfiguring (like Guinea worm). (Go ahead, look up Guinea worm, I'll wait…) Both of these horrible afflictions could be prevented with more readily available clean drinking and washing water and better sanitation (meaning enough water to easily separate the water you drink from the water you clean yourself with). In some communities, village women walk miles in the hot sun and harsh conditions to carry a few gallons of water back for their families, and that's all the water they may have, sometimes for days.

charity: water does a wonderful thing; it provides ready sources of clean water to people in 20 countries on four continents, countries like Ethiopia, the Honduras, Bolivia, and India. Teams funded by donations dig and drill wells, build water filtration systems, and protect natural sources of water like springs and artesian wells. The money also goes to workers' salaries, local organizations for materials and labor for water projects, and salaries and training for committees to oversee the economical use and maintenance of water resources.

Clean water may not be a luxury for those of us reading this, but it is still a necessity. Ask yourself what you would do without clean water to drink. You know how health experts recommend eight glasses of water a day? What if you couldn't accomplish that? Not "didn't" but "couldn't?" Please donate and help bring clean water to the people in these developing countries, and together we can improve their quality of life. And then go drink a big glass of water. How sweet it is!

Where the money goes: http://www.charitywater.org/projects/d2p/