International World Water Day reminds me of the debate we used to have in Primary School about ‘’water and fire.’’ Which of the two you would prefer? Back then, I would scratch my head a wonder which one to choose between the two. Its common knowledge though that water is life and that explains why nearly 70 % of an adult human body is made of water.
Imagine with me for a moment how life would be like if there was no water. Talk of the different uses of water, ranging from drinking, cooking, washing, bathing, irrigation among others. Almost 75% of the earth surface is covered by water.
As we commemorate World Water Day, let’s remember to get fresh clean and safe water because that is the best that can save human lives not just any kind of water. Through the different water sources we have, we can choose to have safe clean water which promotes better hygiene for good health.
The theme for this year is ‘’Waste Water’’ which reminds me of how we have taken water for granted and misused it and wasted it in our own ways. It’s only responsible to use water in a proper way.
According to UNICEF, Recent surveys show that more than 30 per cent of the people in South Sudan do not have access to safe water supplies. Only 45 per cent of South Sudan’s 3,349 basic primary schools have access to safe water.
When Hold The Child Organization conducted an interview with primary school going pupils in Juba in regards to the commemoration of World Water Day, they found out that many families still struggle to get safe clean water because of scarcity of money to buy clean water and sometimes the water distributors do not reach all the parts of the City center due to high demand from the general public.
While visiting the Schools, majority of the schools within the City have either borehole water or Water Tank Tap. However, in the outskirt, many of the schools still have no access to safe and clean water to keep good hygiene and to help them quench their thirsts.
The United Nations has declared that access to safe and sanitary water is an inalienable human right, yet more than one in ten people around the world about 663 million people lack access to sanitary water. This global crisis is evident in communities facing contamination, infrastructure problems and water scarcity around the world. Together, we can end this threat to human survival.
As water still remains a challenge for most South Sudanese, the best solution to this is to have a collective responsibility from all the stake holders to join hands together to participate and make sure that peace prevails, build better stable economy so that people can afford and create more avenues for easy water accessibility to promote good health.
