Water. It’s one of those things we totally take for granted here in the West. We walk to a tap, turn on the faucet, and out comes fresh, clean, cold or hot water. We drink it. We bathe in it. We cook with it. It’s just there.
But that’s not the case everywhere.
According to the 2006 UN Human Development Report…
Water problems affect half of humanity:
- Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
- Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water survive on less than $2 a day, with one in three living on less than $1 a day.
- More than 660 million people without sanitation live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million on less than $1 a day.
- Access to piped water into the household averages about 85% for the wealthiest 20% of the population, compared with 25% for the poorest 20%.
- 1.8 billion people who have access to a water source within 1 kilometre, but not in their house or yard, consume around 20 litres per day. In the United Kingdom the average person uses more than 50 litres of water a day flushing toilets (where average daily water usage is about 150 liters a day. The highest average water use in the world is in the US, at 600 liters day.)
- Some 1.8 million child deaths each year as a result of diarrhoea
- The loss of 443 million school days each year from water-related illness.
- Close to half of all people in developing countries suffering at any given time from a health problem caused by water and sanitation deficits.
But those are just stats, that I’m sure you glossed over.
BUT… some of the kids in our circle of friends have decided to try to help out what little way they can — by putting on a FREE concert on Friday, May 13th at 7:30pm at Good Shepherd Community Church, Scarborough. All the money obtained through donations, food and drink sales, and the profit from mechandise sales, will go directly to Compassion Canada in order help them build clean water wells in the countries of Ghana and Ethiopia.
We wish we could do more, but it’s a start. Why not help us out by coming on Friday to hear “To Tell“, “Every Spare Second“, and “All We Have” as they perform for this benefit concert.
There will also be opportunities to help out Compassion by sponsoring children around the world.
Join us on Friday. The doors open at 7:30pm and the concert starts at 7:45pm sharp!
TTFN