How you can solve the water crisis (for one person).

A woman's loud cry pierced through a small village in the northern part of Nigeria. Aminah had just lost her infant child. This was the second child that had died in 3 years.

Cause of death? Polluted water.

Like other women in her village, Aminah had to walk a round trip of 4-6 hours, to collect water from open swamps or ponds. These ponds were open to defecation from animals and other harmful microorganisms.

Aminah knew this water was bad, particularly for her babies. But what choice did she have? It was either she watched them die from thirst or take a chance and hope they survived the polluted water.

There are millions of women like Aminah.

According to a press release by UNICEF in 2013, globally, an estimated 2,000 children under the age of five die every day from diarrhoeal diseases and of these some 1,800 deaths are linked to water, sanitation and hygiene.

“Sometimes we focus so much on the big numbers, that we fail to see the human tragedies that underlie each statistic,” says Sanjay Wijesekera, global head of UNICEF’s water, sanitation and hygiene programme.

“If 90 school buses filled with kindergartners were to crash every day, with no survivors, the world would take notice. But this is precisely what happens every single day because of poor water, sanitation and hygiene.”

“UNICEF child mortality data show that about half of under-five deaths occur in only five countries: India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Pakistan and China. Two countries – India (24 per cent) and Nigeria (11 per cent) – together account for more than a third of all under-five deaths. These same countries also have significant populations without improved water and sanitation.”

Every single day in these countries scores of women like Aminah are wailing for their dead children.

But this doesn’t have to be. For just 20 dollars, a safe water solution can be provided for just 1 woman like Aminah, saving her child and freeing up time for her to go to school or learn a trade rather than wasting large chunks of her life fetching water for her children to drink.

To donate, simply click: https://my.charitywater.org/donate

Do it in honor of a woman special to you. Happy international women's day.

Image credit (In order of appearance): Hellobeautiful. Constructionreviewonline. Windsorstar. Africandevelopmentbank.