Water, literally, is life.
Safe, clean water ties the globe together through plants, products, food and every animal in the world. It brings life to everything and has no boundaries. In fact, we are drinking the same water the dinosaurs drank and caring for it, keeping our limited water resources and water cycles healthy, is critical to life on earth.
Comparing Access
The Great Lakes of North America
- Hold 21% of the world’s fresh surface water
- Hold 84% of North America’s fresh surface water
- The Great Lakes Basin is home to 30 Million people, 10% of the US population and 30% of the Canadian population
- The Great Lakes is 80% of the United States’ drinking water supply.
It is a really big deal, and very special that North America has these water resources that are so readily available.
Meanwhile, in places like sub-Saharan Africa, many people have never seen a lake, used a flush toilet, had a shower (like the developed world), or had access to a tap to get the safe water they need anytime and place. We are very lucky in North America, especially the Great Lakes Region, to have access to safe water.
Many Americans also use groundwater – learn more here.
East Africa
In east Africa, and many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, rural people walk an average of 4 miles a day to find, collect and haul water that might not be safe for consumption. Although east Africa is home to its own “Great Lakes” system and a lot ground water, building proper access and treatment is expensive.
The startling facts:
- 3 billion people are affected by the scarcity of water
- 2.1 people lack access to safely managed water sources
- 4.5 billion people don’t have access to proper sanitation – More people have access to a cell phone than to a toilet
- In Africa alone, 40 billion hours a year are used (commonly by women), to collect water each year
The Global Water Crisis isn’t going to go away on its own.
We need to work together and make lasting change.
At Drink Local. Drink Tap., Inc.™, we see these statistics as huge problems. We understand that positive repercussions can occur from bringing safe water access to schools in east Africa, so that’s just what we do.
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Enjoy our video clips, photographs and personal speaking engagements to learn more about the global water crisis.
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Host a fundraiser in your business, community, church, school or raise funds online via our 4 Miles 4 Water event each May.
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