As summer-time approaches, my children dust off their bikes to meet up with friends at the park. One of my jobs is ensuring they bring their water bottles along. I am sure most parents can empathize, I have to remind my children to drink water, especially when spending time in the sun!
I am so privileged to live in a city that has excellent drinking water directly from the tap!
What many of us cannot imagine, is the harsh reality many parents in our world face daily. There just is simply not enough clean drinking water to give their children. I cannot imagine thirst being a way of life.
Solving this critical issue may seem like an insurmountable task. However, there are many people working everyday to work toward the availability of clean drinking water all over the world.
Former President James Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, founded the Carter Center in 1982. One major accomplishment has been to nearly eradicate Guinea Worm Disease, which is caused from drinking stagnant water.
In 1986, there were 3.5 million reported cases and last tallied in 2012, only 542 reported cases.
This example gives me hope. Through education, awareness and hard work, we can not only address the issue of clean water availability but we can find and implement solutions!
Here is a recent interview with Former President James Carter on the Jon Stewart show: