Today, we mark World Water Day. Here at Heifer International, we understand the necessity of clean, safe water for hygiene and consumption, as well as for raising healthy livestock and gardens. We work with families all over the world to ensure reliable access to an abundance of water that is free from dangerous, disease-causing microorganisms, pollution and chemicals.
We also work to install new technologies, where appropriate, so that families and animals have access to safe drinking water. In Vietnam, for example, we're helping farmers install floating switch systems for their cows. We wrote about it back in January, and you can take a look at how it works in the link above.
Essentially, though, it enables farmers to ensure their cows consistently have enough water in their troughs without having to continually pump water from wells.
Across the world in Haiti, Heifer inaugurated a new lake in Cabaret. We built the lake at the request of the community there who did not have a nearby watersource. The lake is also stocked with fish, so it's now a water AND food source.
We take different approaches depending on the project. For example, in Maniche, Haiti, we helped install cisterns that made it possible for residents like Louis Desira, a tailor, to spend more time and energy on his profession than walking four kilometers each day to fetch water.
In Cameroon, we've trained farmers on how to build biosand filters, and helped stem the spread of cholera.
Back in Vietnam and in other countries like Bangladesh and India, project participants pool money and resources to build hand-pumped wells. Residents no longer carry unsafe water from the local river to their village every day because the wells provide clean water for drinking, cooking and bathing.
So today, take a few minutes to recognize that you probably don't have to worry about your water: where it comes from, what's in it or how much you have. Check out what you can do to observe the day.
