For the world s poor, drinking water can kill By Addie Moorfoot on 05.15.13 Word Count 573 Photo: Derek Watson What if you had to worry about getting sick whenever you took a sip of water? For about 800 million people that fear is a reality. That is because they do not have clean drinking water. Petronella Muelula lives in Zambia with her eight children. She is one of 354 million Africans who cannot get clean water. Every time Petronella and her children drink water, they risk illness. They get their water from a lake near their home. Waste flows into the lake. The water is polluted and could make them sick, or even kill them. Risky Water Water experts say that 3.4 million people die every year because of dirty water. You cannot always tell if water is safe. It may look nice and clear. But the microbes in dirty water cannot be seen with the naked eye.
There is plenty of water in the world, but not a lot to drink. More than two-thirds of the Earth is covered in water. Almost of all that water is salt water. People need fresh water. Most of the planet s fresh-water supply is frozen in ice caps. What is left is the water stored underground. By drilling a hole, you can get to the fresh water. But drilling is expensive. Poor countries do not have the money to drill wells. That is why people like Petronella must fetch water from lakes. When drinking bad water sometimes children can die, so I worry because (my children could) suffer, Petronella said. Her story was told in the film This is Normal. Director Derek Watson made the film. He wanted to tell the world about the water crisis. Deadly Diarrhea Drinking dirty water can cause diarrheal disease. The World Health Organization reports that the disease kills 1.5 million children every year. Diarrhea causes sufferers to use the bathroom many times each day. If it goes on for too long, the body loses the water and salts it needs to survive. We think of diarrheal disease as something that perhaps happens (on vacation) or we eat in a strange place and get an upset stomach for a couple of days, Professor Peter Kolsky said in the film. But that is not the case in poor countries. The disease kills more children every year than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. If children had clean water to drink then they most likely would not get this disease. The numbert of children dying from polluted water and poor cleanliness is high. Bad water kills more children than violent conflicts such as war. Seeking a Solution Dick Greenly lives in Oklahoma. He wanted to bring clean water to the poor. So Greenly and his wife formed an organization called Water4. Water4 trains people in Africa to drill water wells. The wells are cheap to build. It makes it possible for people in poor countries to have a steady supply of clean water. Petronella s village now has its own well. Before we had (this well) we had many children (in our village) with diarrhea, Petronella told Watson. But at this moment it is controlled. There are many organizations like Water4 in America. They are all trying to make water safer to drink in countries with bad water.
I have hopes and dreams for the future, Petronella said in the film. I hope that my children will grow up and be educated. To see that happen would make me the happiest person in the world.
Quiz 1 Which sentence from the article explains that water may contain harmful things that you cannot see? Water experts say that 3.4 million people die every year because of dirty water. But the microbes in dirty water cannot be seen with the naked eye. You cannot always tell if water is safe. It may look nice and clear. 2 According to the information in the article, why can taking a sip of water make Petronella and her children sick? Their water supply is polluted. Their water comes from underground. Most of the water they drink is frozen. Most of the water they drink is salt water. 3 What does the author say kills more children than violent conflicts like war? malaria bad water HIV/AIDS tuberculosis 4 How is Water4 helping people in Africa? It makes sure that the news covers the water crisis. It provides medication to treat diarrheal disease. It gives money to people to buy bottled water. It trains people to drill water wells. 5 What happens when you have diarrhea? It causes chest pain and a fast heartbeat. It causes shortness of breath and coughing. It causes red or swollen bumps to appear on the skin. It causes the body to lose water and salts needed to survive.
Answer Key 1 Which sentence from the article explains that water may contain harmful things that you cannot see? Water experts say that 3.4 million people die every year because of dirty water. But the microbes in dirty water cannot be seen with the naked eye. You cannot always tell if water is safe. It may look nice and clear. 2 According to the information in the article, why can taking a sip of water make Petronella and her children sick? Their water supply is polluted. Their water comes from underground. Most of the water they drink is frozen. Most of the water they drink is salt water. 3 What does the author say kills more children than violent conflicts like war? malaria bad water HIV/AIDS tuberculosis 4 How is Water4 helping people in Africa? It makes sure that the news covers the water crisis. It provides medication to treat diarrheal disease. It gives money to people to buy bottled water. It trains people to drill water wells. 5 What happens when you have diarrhea? It causes chest pain and a fast heartbeat. It causes shortness of breath and coughing. It causes red or swollen bumps to appear on the skin. It causes the body to lose water and salts needed to survive.