I chose clean drinking water because clean water is a necessity for health. When I lived in Dominica, West Indies, getting clean water was sometimes a problem especially during the rainy season. I thank God that on campus we had water fountains that contained clean filtered water. My husband and I would fill 3 gallon jugs from the campus water and carry them home. I know the poorer locals didn't have access to clean water and at times my neighbor with young children would ask us to get water for her. Some households had regular plumbing while others had to pump water from a well. Some small towns would use the river to clean, bathe, and drink. Their government was working on ways to obtain clean water for their people.
I chose to focus on the health issue of clean drinking water in Afghanistan. This part of the world is of particular interest to me. My heart goes out to the women and children who suffer at the hands of corrupt leaders - both political and religous.
I can say that these issues will affect my future work because knowing and understanding these important issues will help me be sensitive to the needs of my students and their families.
Clean, safe drinking water is a basic right. A right which over 1.2 billion people
around the world are denied. A lack of clean water affects sanitation, health, food supplies and preparation and economic development.
Afghanistan has a population of 22 million people, 70% of which is undernourished and one in four children die before the age of five. Only 13% of people have access to improved water sources and the situation has worsened due to inadequate rainfall over the last two years causing the government to declare 12 districts drought-affected.
