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From Obama - "Let Clean Waters Flow" |
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Posted
on January 21, 2009 at 8:17 AM
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From yesterday’s inaugural address: To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect.
This simple phrase about clean water is the culmination of many years of hard work to elevate water to its rightful place on the US government agenda and the global agenda. As we pursue the vision of safe water for all, I believe the wind we have at our back will continue to strengthen!
Best regards, Gary White
Executive Director | WaterPartners | http://www.water.org |
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Seeking a country of social justice |
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Posted
on January 09, 2009 at 12:45 PM
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To seek a country of social justice, where poverty has been overcome and people live in dignity and security.
This is the vision of Dushtha Shasthya Kendra (DSK), WaterPartners’ local partner in Bangladesh. Thanks to your donations, WaterPartners, DSK and Bangladeshi communities in need of safe water are working together to help achieve this vision.
Over the course of a three-year program, funded by WaterPartners donors, DSK will help more than 17,000 people living in 15 slum areas of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, to gain access to clean water and improved toilet facilities.
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Today is WORLD TOILET DAY |
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Posted
on November 19, 2008 at 2:57 PM
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Yes! You CAN change someone’s life with a toilet
November 19, 2008
It is no joke. Today we celebrate World Toilet Day and the incredible value of the can. Call it what you will – the pot, the loo, the throne, the latrine, the water closet, the bog – it’s one of the most important inventions in history.
Why recognize World Toilet Day? Because the majority of illness in the world is caused by fecal matter. Because 2.5 billion people, 42 percent of the world’s population, don’t have access to proper sanitation. Because 1.2 billion people have no toilet, no hole in the ground, no pit latrine – nothing. And because 1.8 million children die each year from diarrhea alone – 4,900 deaths each day.
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Overpowering the Local Water “Musclemen” |
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Posted
on November 06, 2008 at 10:26 AM
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Rich Thorsten, our Senior Manager of International Programs, wrote the following after his last trip to Dhaka, Bangladesh - an account of poverty and hope:
Dhaka is a city of over ten million people and growing. There are rivers seemingly everywhere in Bangladesh, so people live and work on any piece of land they can find. Unfortunately, the presence of the rivers doesn’t mean these people have access to safe drinking water or sanitary conditions.
Recently, I traveled with staff from our local partner organization, DSK, to visit tw... |
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WaterPartners at the Clinton Global Initiative |
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Posted
on October 09, 2008 at 10:08 AM
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Toilets and Taps: Leading Organisations Commit to Improve the Lives of Millions Around the World
New York (September 25, 2008) - Today, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) announced a "Water and Sanitation Mega-Commitment" which will help millions of people to gain two of life's most fundamental necessities: clean water to drink and a safe, private toilet to use.
The announcement, made at CGI's 2008 Annual Meeting, included commitments to action by an alliance which includes the Global Water Challenge (GWC), WaterPartners, and the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC). Collectively, the $60 million in commitments in which they are involved will improve the quality of life for some 6 million of the world's poorest people.
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Testimonies from the field - South Asia 2008 |
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Posted
on August 28, 2008 at 8:41 AM
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Gramalaya (one of our local partners in India) and WaterPartners staff participated in two Republic Day ceremonies in which each village area was declared 100% open defecation-free. Damodaran Sait briefly chatted with beneficiaries who had taken out loans for new latrines. This discussion was captured on video which he can provide. Rich Thorsten, our Manager of Partner Development, was also able to ask some beneficiaries through an interpreter about their perceived benefits of the latrines. The following quotes emerged from those household visits.
Venkatesparum village:
"A household toilet is very useful. We all now use the toilet. We do not like to go to the fields because there are snakes and other dangerous animals there that we cannot see early in the morning or at night. So we are happy to have our own toilet at home."
- Bamaody, Self-Help Group Member
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Notes from the field, May 2008 |
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Posted
on July 01, 2008 at 10:31 AM
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I’m on my flight home and my mind is racing with all that I have experienced over the past two weeks.
First stop: Rwanda
My journey started in Rwanda where I met Ben Affleck for the first time. I was there because of new partnership WaterPartners has with the OnexOne Foundation. We’re hosting an event together in San Francisco this fall, which is modeled on an event they’ve held the past two years in Toronto, Canada, with Matt Damon and Matt Affleck.
While WaterPartners’ doesn’t currently work in Rwanda, OnexOne is supporting work in Rwanda that benefits children’s hospitals. OnexOne’s deep commitment to improving the life of children led it to partner with WaterPartners. Amazingly, even in the 21st century, unsafe drinking water is a leading cause of child mortality, and is the top killer of children under age five in the developing world.
In Rwanda, I...
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