This week I chose the public health topic of access to healthy water. This recently became very near and dear to my heart. Many of you may, or may not, have heard about the recent chemical leak into the Kanawha (Elk) River that occurred in Charleston, West Virginia. (This happens to be my hometown.) For about 7 days, 9 counties of WV were without clean and usable water. Residents were advised to not shower, drink, or cook with the tap water. Water stations were set up and FEMA arrived to help supply bottled (fresh) water to those living in the affected areas. Recently, they lifted the ban for some areas and put out instructions for the flushing of the current tap water. About a day later, they issued a warning to pregnant women that the water was unsafe for drinking, showering, etc. The importance of safe water for pregnant women is obviously very important, as if the importance of safe and drinkable, usable water for all people.
This experience has affected so many people I know with and without children and families. It has brought attention to the worldwide issue that many, especially those in 3rd world countries, live their lives every day without access to clean water. This leads to death and illness for many, especially children whose immune system is not strong enough to fight off serious bacterial infections. This has inspired me to learn and study about the crisis worldwide and find a way to help. Whether I make a trip to help out physically or donate resources, I will find a way to make a difference in a persons' life. This is something that will not get better unless those with the resources and knowledge reach out and help!
The link to an article in the local paper:
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201401160034
The link to an article on Yahoo comparing this crisis to the worldwide crisis:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/many-worldwide-dont-access-clean-130336248.html
I was unfamiliar with the situation in your hometown, but it made me think of how burdened I thought that I was in not having water for just a few days after severe flooding in my town caused several water main breaks and collapsed a pipe underneath my front yard. I found it difficult but not unmanageable. I was beyond relieved, however, when we were back up a running again and realized how much I take something so simple for granted.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding me how many people live globally with unsuitable water supplies on a daily basis. I chose to explore the topic of breastfeeding, and it is in countries that are subject to adversity where the practice can be most important. The most important asset humans have is their knowledge. The more information we can share and utilize to instruct people on how to make their situations better, the closer we can get to eradicating conditions that are harming people all over the world.
I had not heard about the chemical leak in your hometown. I am glad that you were able to have access to fresh water. As I was reading this, it reminded me of when I was helping with the clean-up in Waveland, MS when I was there during Christmas break right after hurricane Katrina in 2005. We were having to drink bottled water and weren't allowed to go into the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, in a house that we were finishing cleaning out, had what we called TFW (toxic flood water) in it. I can understand now just how important clean water is.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing about your experience. My heart goes out to the countries that don't have clean water and the effect that it can have on children. I had chosen to write on SIDS because of the impact that it had on my family. The more information that can be shared with families about how to prevent SIDS is going to be an important step in preventing more infants from dying from it in the future.
I am more than total agree with you. There are places in China where children and mothers are living in the mountain. Water resources are very rare to them. Children have to walk a few hours every day to get to the sources of water so that they can bring home to cook and drink. These were shown on TV and it was so heartbreaking when we saw this. Children could not go to school as they were busy to get the water everyday. So you can imagine how the pregnant mother can get their water. They have to walk the same route to get it too. Government is trying to help, but it just takes too long sometimes to resolve this issue as they might not see it importantly.
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