Clean Water Blogivation contest: Vote and Donate Water

Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water (Source: World Health Organization and UNICEF). That’s one in eight of us. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and 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 diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses. 90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation. If there is anything on which all of humanity can agree I would venture to bet that it is the right of each person to water. This is an issue I've been involved with for some time now so when I came across the Clean Water Blogivation campaign (open to all female bloggers) at BlogHer last week, I knew I had to participate. If my blog receives the most votes, I will win an opportunity to join Dr. Greg Allgood on a clean water expedition to Africa and a $15,000 donation to my favorite charity tackling water issues.

Going to Africa would be the realization of a long-cherished wish, one that I've had since studying both East and West Africa as a history major in college. And a $15,000 donation to charity: water would be used 100% towards directly funding water projects. But I'm realistic, I know that my little blog doesn't have much of a chance to win, and that is not why I'm posting today. Each time you vote for my post in the Clean Water Blogivation contest (voting is once per day until August 27), Proctor and Gamble will donate a day's worth of clean drinking water (2L) to a person in need in a developing country! I would love to be able to give 1000L of water through my Random Mommy Readers. Just look at this video and see how Proctor and Gamble, in alliance with the Children’s Safe Drinking Water program, has provided clean drinking water to the people most in need by distributing PUR water purification packets—an innovation that easily turns contaminated H2O into safe, drinkable water.



The PUR packets are unique in being extremely effective in removing dirt and pollutants like arsenic while removing greater than 99.9% of parasites, 99.99% of viruses, and 99.9999% of bacteria. PUR packets are also proven to reduce diarrheal illness by up to 90% in particularly vulnerable people like those living in refugee camps. I watched a demo at BlogHer and it was amazing how they transformed a container full of dirty brown water into one that was clear and purified. Please help get this clean water to those who need it by participating in this campaign. You can vote for my post through the widget below. Every vote and every drop of water counts, so much more than you can imagine. Thank you!