Every Christmas Tayside Christian Fellowship (TCF) raises money in an appeal for worthy causes. In 2020, we raised funds for Tearfund, so that it could install more toilets in some of the poorest countries in the world.
Christmas 2021, TCF continued supporting Tearfund, this time for the provision of clean water in poverty-stricken areas. We are so passionate about both these projects we are keen to also support the cause through our website.
It’s so hard to believe what we take for granted without any thought, would be considered by millions around the world as sheer luxury, never available to them!
Here are some basic facts we would like to share with you.
- 844 million people around the world still do not have access to clean water.
- Water scarcity, made worse by climate change, means crops fail, food supplies dwindle, people remain trapped in poverty and the daily treks for water get longer.
- People still drink water directly from sources such as rivers and ponds, and the burden of collecting that water mostly falls on women and girls who have to forego education to make long, dangerous treks every day to collect water.
- The 2nd biggest cause of death for children under the age of 5 is diarrhoea. Safe drinking water, good sanitation and hand washing with soap, significantly reduces the risk of this infection and of catching waterborne diseases such as cholera.
- Tearfund is working in over 50 countries to introduce people, for the first time, to their own supply of clean water and toilets!
844 million people around the world still do not have access to clean water
Great Britain is widely known to be a nation for two quite contradictory facts, borne out by many surveys over the years! We are considered a nation of moaners (along with many others, I quickly add) but we are also generous supporters of charitable giving, even when money is tight.
I struggle to think that anyone in Britain has moaned about a shortage of water or a lack of toilet facilities at home. These basic human rights we take for granted, with little or no thought for millions around the world who are deprived of such luxury.
The average water used per person each day in the UK is 142 litres – about 30% of that for flushing the toilet!
A final thought, the world is battling COVID, rich and poor countries alike, and yet millions cannot even wash their hands, never mind have the choice of vaccinations!
Our Tap Twinning donation for Tearfund will be used to help give sustainable, reliable, and affordable access to safe, clean water and we would like to encourage you to find out more, just like we have done. Thank you.
Photo by satheeshkumar ram on Unsplash