Rajkot AchhatGrasth Vistar ma Vacation Darmiyan Acharya ane Teacher Ne Hajar Rakhva Babat Paripatra
With nearly three-quarters of the earth covered in water, it would seem unlikely that there is water scarcity at all. However, water scarcity does not have as much to do with the availability of "any" water as it does with the availability of potable, or usable, water. With worldwide water predominantly utilized for corporate consumption and less than 1% of available water from fresh water sources (such as snowcaps or glaciers), according to the CDC, over 1 billion people are currently forced to use water from hazardous resources for cooking, bathing and consumption. Approximately half of this vulnerable population are children.
Searching for potable water sources is a daily chore for over 2 billion women and children across the globe, who spend many hours each day hauling water from pumps and basins to their homes. In what is sometimes described as a "six hour journey," this population, predominantly girls, spend their day fetching water instead
of attending school or playing with siblings or friends.
In addition, children who are consistently exposed to hazardous, unpotable water or exposed to pumps or water sources that have been contaminated by water-borne bacteria, contract diseases such as cholera and they are often affected by life-threatening diarrhea from parasites in unclean water.
Not only does the work of transporting water inhibit a child's ability to access education, but it is also "back-breaking" work. With endless household chores such as caring for livestock, siblings, washing, cooking, cleaning and storing, the need for obtaining water never ends, from morning to night, every day. The heavy water, fetched in containers that vary in size, is carried on a child's head for many miles, and with children carrying an average of one gallon or more, this water plus the container can weigh up to 10 pounds or more, which can also cause physical damage to a child's body. The older the child, the more water they typically carry, with adolescent girls and women carrying up to 45 pounds of water (roughly the weight of a kindergartner) on their head.
