A (15/03/11) story from the Kenya Daily Nation indicates that more than 1,000 pupils in Marsabit North district have not reported to school since their parents have migrated to Ethiopia in search of pasture for livestock. Students in five primary schools in this vast desert area will miss classes due to a devastating drought. The worst hit schools include Balesa PS with 380 residential pupils who might not return to school this year unless intervention measures are put in place. Acute water shortage in the region will prevent normal school activities from taking place. There are no funds available to sponsor the fuelling of water tankers used to haul water. There are no wells or other sources of clean drinking water. Students forced to attend other more stable schools will increase classroom sizes. Although food rations have been sent to the affected schools, meals cannot be prepared due to acute water shortage.
This drought is not felt in Western Province where CES Canada operates in 17 secondary schools. What is clear however is that there are hundreds of schools surrounding Kakamega without a well supply of clean drinking water. In 2010 CES schools Eshitari SS and Navakholo SS each celebrated the opening of their new well. This year CES is partnering with the Toronto District School Board and the Agincourt Rotary Club to build a well at Khachonge PS. There are two other schools in the CES Kenya family that also need wells dug and clean water flowing.
UN World Water Day
World Water Day reminds us all of the most precious natural resource in the world. It also highlights once again the desperate global situation that needs to be addressed. The global water and sanitation crisis affects billions of people around the world. 2.6 billion people live without a safe toilet, and 884 million live without access to clean water. Potentially more than 3 billion people may suffer water shortages by the year 2025. Disease, poverty, gender equality and a lack of education are amplified as people are forced to spend most of their time and energy collecting water for their basic human needs. 3.6 million people die each year from water related disease.
On World Water Day CES Canada joins with NGOs and civil society groups around the world with a common voice stating categorically that “access to water and sanitation is a basic human right and a massive step towards poverty reduction.”
Consider What You Can Do to Make a Difference
Save a Drop…
Using a low-flow faucet can save you 3.5 gallons per minute.
Using a low-flow toilet can save nearly 5 gallons per flush.
Brushing your teeth requires around 2 gallons of water. Use water to rinse only.
A five minute shower can use 25-50 gallons of water. A low-flow shower head can help reduce water usage by about 40%.
Fix your leaky faucet; left alone it can waste up to 100 gallons of water a day.
An automatic dishwasher uses approximately 9 to 12 gallons of water while hand washing dishes can use up to 20 gallons.
Take shorter showers
Run clothes and dishwasher only when full saves 1000gallons(3800liters)/month
Make a Donation to CES Canada to fund future well projects
visit www.cescan.ca
Save the Children
Healthy Children Require Clean Water
Diarrhea remains in the second leading cause of death among children under five globally. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is due to diarrhea. It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.
Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.
Diarrhea is more prevalent in the developing world due, in large part, to the lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as poorer overall health and nutritional status.
Children in poor environments often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies at any time.
In the developing world, 24,000 children under the age of five die every day from preventable causes like diarrhea contracted from unclean water.
1.4 million children die as a result of diarrhea each year.
Millions of women and children spend several hours a day collecting water from distant, often polluted sources.
Unless there is recognition that women are most vulnerable and nothing is done about social and cultural equality for women, you’re never going to defeat this pandemic. Stephen Lewis
