Wednesday, 7 April 2010
The importance of access to clean water cannot be underestimated. Church of Ireland Bishops' Appeal has decided to support water projects with Fields of Life, S.A.F.E. (Support for Afghan Further Education) and The Leprosy Mission (TLM) in 2010. Bishops' Appeal will give one third of its non-designated income (that is income not donated for specific projects or emergencies) in 2010 to be shared equally between these three partners. (The remaining two thirds will be distributed among our other partners in the usual way.) Bishops' Appeal will provide more information about the projects as the year progresses.
Almost 900 million people in the world live without access to clean, safe water - nearly 1 in 8 of the world's population. Around 1.4 million children die every year from diseases linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation, that is 1 child every 20 seconds. In those parts of the world without access to clean water women and children spend 3 to 4 hours every day collecting unsafe water from rivers, lakes and ponds. This damages their health, inhibits access to education and reduces food production. According to Water Aid there are 443 million school days lost due to water related diseases.
The provision of clean water to communities previously without it has a dramatic effect on people's lives. Women are freed to help with work in the community; children can go to school instead of spending hours collecting water; overall health improves and food production increases. Access to a safe water supply allows for irrigation and, with the improvement in the community's health, more people are available to work.
At a time when the Irish government has yet again cut its Overseas Development Aid budget it is important that we continue to support the needs of the poorest peoples in the world and make a real difference to their lives