“[Governments] recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health…[including the] provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking water.”-UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a worldwide water crisis among the world’s poorest people. The United Nations estimates that 1.1 billion people have no regular access to clean water, and 2.6 billion people lack access to proper sanitation. A lack of clean water kills nearly 2.2 million people a year, most of them children. Children in improvised nations have the same right to water as the rest of us!
Why Don’t Children Have Access to Water?
• Lack of public water systems
• Money for debt and none for water-in many nations more is spent on each year on debt payments to wealthy nations and banks than is invested in public water systems
• Water owned by corporations—the World Bank, U.S. government, and others are forcing communities to privatize their water systems instead of investing in water as a shared resource. People who cannot afford to pay for water are denied access to this life-giving resource.
• Collecting rainwater has been made illegal because rainwater has also been privatized.
Want to Learn more about Access to Water? Check out the UCGH Week of Action Toolkit or attend the World Water Day Summit that is being organized by Americans for Informed Democracy.
“Water is Life: Youth Leading Change on World Water Day” Summit
Summit: March 22
Training Day: March 23
Lobby Day: March 24
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
Johns Hopkins University
1740 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Hosted by: Student Movement for Real Change, Americans for Informed Democracy, Food and Water Watch, Vestergaard Frandsen, Razoo.com, Carnegie Council’s Policy Innovations, Student Campaign for Child Survival, Chipotle, Whole Foods, Water Advocates
The Summit:
The Saturday summit will be a forum for dialogue, through panels, keynotes, workshops and service, between young people from around the United States and leaders, experts and social entrepreneurs on the issue of water and how it remains a global crisis.
With 1.1 billion people living without access to clean water, the issue is of the utmost important for alleviating poverty. SMRC and its partners invites young people to join us on World Water Day to help bring about change in our global community.
We are seven years away from 2015, the date that the Millenium Development Goals called for reducing by half the number of people who lack access to water. There is much work to be done. Join us in helping to meet that goal.
Interested in getting additional training on organizing and to lobby congress? Trip participants are invited to join us for two additional days of intensive training and lobbying, its optional and is FREE!
Clean Water Lobbying Day
You’ve mobilized your campus, and your community; now join us in Congress on March 24th, and help make clean water a national priority! Water is a basic public service and a human right. Here in the U.S., we are lucky to have some of the best tap water in the world. Still, many communities struggle to find the resources they need to keep their water safe, clean, and affordable. As droughts sweep the country, and our infrastructure ages, we need long-term solutions from our leaders, not short-term fixes. Meet with your elected officials on Monday, March 24th, and ask them to pass legislation that protects and funds our public water, not just now, but for future generations. Training and materials provided- no legislative experience necessary.
Building the Movement: Grassroots Skills for Water Justice
Join us on Sunday, March 23rd for action-oriented Advocacy Day! For students looking to gain concrete grassroots advocacy skills to take back to campus. Topics include: Media and Messaging, Recruiting and Cultivating Campus Leaders, Strategic Campaign Planning, and Legislative Strength: Running Effective District Meetings. Details to come!
Summit Speakers Include:
1. Vanessa Tobin, Deputy Director of Programmes, UNICEF
2. Ambassador John McDonald, Chairman, Global Water and Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy.
3. Andra Tamburro, Water Advocates
4. Daniel Wolf, International Lifeline Fund
5. Michael Deane, Environmental Protection Agency
6. Carol Collado, Child Health Foundation
7. Vesteguard Frandsen Innovations Representative
8. Policy Advisor, Food and Water Watch/Take back the Tap
Click here for more information! http://studentmovementusa.org/waterday_conference.php