Water for Life

What is Goal Seven of the Millennium Development Goals?

Goal Seven seeks to move the world toward environmental sustainability, as the environment provides the resources that sustain human development.

Goal Seven sets targets for cutting in half, by 2015, the number of people who lack access to clean water and basic sanitation; achieving significant improvement, by 2020, in the lives of 100 million people who live in slums; and integrating the principles of sustainable development into country policies in order to reverse the loss of environmental resources.

Did you know that in our world today:

1.2 billion people lack access to a clean source of water?
2.5 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services?
In most developing countries, forests – which contribute to the livelihoods of many of the 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty – are shrinking?

How can you help?

Learn more about access to clean water and sanitation in the developing world by visiting Water Advocates at www.wateradvocates.org. Learn what you, your community, and congregation can do to work for policies to promote environmental sustainability in the developing world.

Episcopal Relief and Development (Clean Water Program) is building better water systems and teaching hygiene practices in countries such as Nicaragua, Tanzania, and the Philippines. ERD is working to provide clean drinking water to children and their families in rural communities plagued with poor sanitation, unhealthy hygiene, and polluted water sources. The training covers sanitation, nutrition, reproductive health, and care for children under five. The training helps improve the overall health of each community so people can live longer lives. www.er-d.org

Water for Sudan, Inc. is a Rochester, NY, USA-based charitable organization by Salva Dut currently operating in Sudan, Africa. Our mission is to drill fresh-water wells for the people in the southern areas of Sudan, providing the foundation for stable, healthy communities. www.waterforsudan.org

We envision the day when everyone in the world can take a safe drink of water. WaterPartners International is committed to providing clean drinking water to communities in developing countries. Working in partnership with donors and local communities, we have helped thousands of people develop accessible, sustainable, community-level water supplies. www.water.org

Give thanks for the gift of water and share with those who do not as of yet have this gift. Help bring life to the world!

From my sermon you can also visit:

Jeffrey Sachs and the article on Ruhiira at Vanity Fair.

H2O Africa is the clean water initiative that is part of the Running the Sahara expedition and film project. H2O Africa will create widespread public awareness of the water crisis in Africa and gather support for clean water programs in critical areas, particularly in the communities without clean water along the Running the Sahara route.

On World Water Day, March 22, 2007, hundreds of restaurants in New York City invited customers to donate just $1 for the tap water they usually enjoy for free. All the money raised through the Tap Project helps UNICEF save lives by providing safe drinking water to children around the world.