WaterAid Australia is over the moon with the news that in the last 20 years over two billion people were provided with an improved water source. This shows that the world has met its goal to bring clean drinking water to the world’s poorest people, but still some 780 million are still waiting for what should be a human right.

This is one of the first Millennium Development Goals targets to be met since they were initially set up in 1990. By halving the number of people who don’t have access to clean water, 2 billion people now have access to water, something WaterAid and it’s supporters should be truly proud of.

Chief Executive of WaterAid in Australia, Adam Laidlaw, said -

Reaching the MDG target and ensuring clean drinking water for over two billion people around the globe is a great achievement.  However, nearly 780 million people are still without access, and they are generally the poorest and most in need. A world where everyone has safe water to drink is achievable and could be only a generation away. The challenge is to get clean water flowing to those in greatest need.

WaterAid and their supporters have managed to keep water on the top of the agenda, whilst campaigning for the priority of investment into sanitation and other essential life-saving services. There is still much to do though, with up to 780 million people without safe drinking water. This is just the start, but what a great start it is!

WaterAid transforms lives by improving access to safe water and sanitation in some of the world’s poorest communities. You can download the ‘Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation 2012 Update’ by clicking on the link below to find out more information.

> > Click here to download update

Buy Charity Gifts from $25 with WaterAid SH2OP for Life

Buy a refreshingly thoughtful Charity Gift from the WaterAid SH2OP for Life and you’ll not only be bringing a smile to a loved ones face, you will also be providing the gift of life to those most in need.

What Will the Recipient Get from Your Charity Gift?

• a personalised ecard, explaining how your kind gift to them will help WaterAid transform lives.
• your gift from SH2OP for Life will help people gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.

> > Click here to order today

"Please note, any prices mentioned in the Charity Gifts blog are correct at the time of posting. Please check the relevant website for the latest pricing information."

Water Aid Australia is asking you to support them in asking the government to do more in tackling the global water and sanitation crisis. Next month, world leaders will be meeting in Washington DC to discuss how to help the hundreds of millions of people who live their daily lives without these basic human rights to clean and safe drinking water.

You can help by asking your local MP to contact the Government to ensure Australia puts forward our case to tackle the worldwide water and sanitation crisis by attending the meeting in America net month. Your local parliamentary official could play a crucial role in helping people trapped in a life of poverty and disease.

Simply click on the link below to add your name to the template letter and send it to your MP to ask them to contact Bob Carr, Minister for Foreign Affairs, to ask for his attendance at the meeting.

I’ve just completed this myself and it literally take less than a minute. So why not join myself and thousands of other supporters around the world to ensure world leaders get the message…

Water Works!

> > Click here to email your MP

Buy Charity Gifts from $25 with WaterAid SH2OP for Life

Buy a refreshingly thoughtful Charity Gift from the WaterAid SH2OP for Life and you’ll not only be bringing a smile to a loved ones face, you will also be providing the gift of life to those most in need.

What Will the Recipient Get from Your Charity Gift?

•  a personalised ecard, explaining how your kind gift to them will help WaterAid transform lives.
• your gift from SH2OP for Life will help people gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.

> > Click here to order today

"Please note, any prices mentioned in the Charity Gifts blog are correct at the time of posting. Please check the relevant website for the latest pricing information."

WaterAid Australia is calling for your help to transform the lives of the people of East Timor this Christmas. Only 69% of the one million population have access to safe drinking water, with the others having to travel miles by foot just to receive a safe drink. The most at risk are young children, who could die from preventable diseases such as diarrhoea due to a lack of simple medicines.

East Timor, sounds like a world away, and it is in terms of facilities, yet it is less than 1,000 kilometres from Australia. WaterAid helps communities to have access to clean safe water and adequate sanitation, whilst educating the locals on the importance of hygiene.  For example, in the three years since WaterAid began working in the village of Saerana, they have helped the local community to plan, design and build a water and sanitation system. Thanks to this amazing work on the frontline, village life there has been totally transformed.

WaterAid staff member, Freya Paterson, said -

The tap stand is the most modern thing in the village. Everything else is made from local materials, like trees, bamboo and palm leaves. The people of Saerana take enormous pride in the fact that they’ve constructed this tap and that safe water flows freely, without the burden of walking for hours back and forth to the nearest water source. It’s hard to have a real impact in these areas if you don’t first provide people with a solution that incorporates safe water and effective sanitation – that’s why WaterAid’s work is so important.

WaterAid needs more donations to continue transforming lives in East Timor, like -

• $50 could pay for two tool and spares kits for village water committees to maintain their water supplies.
• $125 could pay for enough cement to produce 20 latrine cover slabs.
• $250 could pay for the construction of a tapstand providing water for five families.

> > Click here to donate to East Timor with WaterAid Australia

"Please note, any prices mentioned in the Charity Gifts blog are correct at the time of posting. Please check the relevant website for the latest pricing information."