How would you like to be remembered when you die? Friends of the deceased XPRESS reporter, Habiba Ahmed AbdelAziz, wanted people to remember her in a positive way that was true to her values of making the world a better place. On August 14, 2013, at the age of 26, Habiba was shot in the uprising in Egypt and died as a result. Her friends have now started an online crowdfunding campaign on charitywater.org in order to provide clean, sustainable drinking water to those in need.
Charity:water is a nonprofit organisation that was founded in New York, in 2006. It has so far benefitted over 2.5 million people in 20 countries, with a vision to bring clean water to the world.The organisation focuses on water for many reasons. About 800 million people on the planet don’t have access to safe and clean drinking water, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Between 6 to 8 million people die annually from the consequences of disasters and water-related diseases. Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren’t strong enough to fight diarrhoea, dysentery and other such illnesses.
In Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year walking for water. Women and children usually bear the burden of water collection, walking miles to the nearest source, which is unprotected and likely contaminated. Time spent walking and resulting diseases keep them from school, work and taking care of their families.
These are very alarming statistics and need our attention. Drinking water is a basic necessity and so we think that this cause is one that everyone can relate to and support. People can donate online by simply logging on to www.my.charitywater.org/habiba.You can donate to the campaign by credit card or Paypal. Hundred per cent of all donations will go towards creating sustainable water projects. GPS coordinates and pictures will be sent to all the people who donate, to show them exactly where their money went, once the campaign is successful.
Habiba always supported humanitarian causes that were good for the planet. I think this is a great way for people to support her legacy as a humanitarian in a positive way.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO):
- 85 per cent of the world’s population lives in the driest half of the planet.
- 783 million people do not have access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation.
- Over 3.6 per cent of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply, sanitation, and hygiene.
- More than 10% of people worldwide consume foods irrigated by wastewater that can contain chemicals or disease-causing organisms.
- Millennium Development Goal number 7, aims to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
