World Water Day, March 22
This Saturday, March 22, is World Water Day, a day set aside by the UN for member states and organizations to implement programs to deal with healthy drinking water and sanitation issues for people in developing countries.
“Each day 4,500 children die around the world due to mostly preventable water and sanitation- related diseases,” said David Douglas, President of Water Advocates, a US-based nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing American support for safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. “That’s about 135,000 lives per month — a small city’s worth of children — an ongoing disaster by anyone’s standards.”
Those of us who live here in the Sonoran Desert know that water is a precious commodity. But most of us go about our daily lives with little awareness of just how precious (and precarious) a safe drinking water supply is. Complain as we might about the flavor of our water, we know it is there and it is safe for the vast majority of us to drink. And for now we can live with the illusion that there is an unlimited supply of it (though we really shouldn’t, ‘cuz it isn’t).
Discussions of toilet-to-tap water purification systems always inspire a certain to-be-expected “ick” response. But think about it: millions of people around the world everyday experience the original toilet-to-tap water system: they bathe in, wash their clothes in, defecate in, urinate in, and then drink the only water they have available — and that’s if they have access to any real water supply at all.
So, this weekend, as you sip your morning coffee, take a leisurely shower, water your garden, or do the dishes, take a moment to think about others around the world who cannot. Then check out one (or more) of these US-based organizations which are working to implement safe drinking water and sanitation projects in developing countries (list provides by Water Advocates):
Action Against Hunger
http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/what-we-do/water-sanitation
247 West 37th Street, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Phone: +1 (212) 967-7800 | Toll free: +1 (877) 777-1420
African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF)
http://www.amref.org/index.asp?PageID=50&PiaID=6
4 West 43rd Street,
New York, NY 10036
Phone: +212-768-2440
Africare
http://www.africare.org/contact/contact_us.html
440 R Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 462-3614
Agua Para La Vida
http://www.aplv.org/
2311 Webster Street
Berkeley, CA 94705
510-643-8003
CARE
https://my.care.org/05/water?qp_source=170760840000
151 Ellis St., NE
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: 1-800-521-CARE
Catholic Relief Services
http://www.crs.org/
228 W. Lexington St.
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-3413
Phone: 888-277-7575
charity: water
http://www.charityis.org/
150 Varick St. 5th floor
New York, NY 10013
646-688-2323
Church World Service
http://www.churchworldservice.org/worship-resources/worship-water.html
P.O. Box 968
Elkhart, IN 46515
Phone: 800-297-1516
El Porvenir
http://www.elporvenir.org/
4214 Van Horn Lane
Bellingham, WA, 98226
Phone: 239-292-2419
Emmanuel International Mission
http://www.e-i.org/
P.O. Box 4050,
3967 Stouffville Road
Stouffville, ON, L4A 8B6
Phone: 905-640-2111
Engineering Ministries International
http://emiusa.org/
130 East Kiowa, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Phone: 719-633-2078
Engineers Without Borders
http://www.ewb-usa.org/
1811 Lefthand Circle, Suite A-1
Longmont, CO 80501
Phone: 303-772-2723
Episcopal Relief and Development
http://www.er-d.org/
815 Second Ave
New York City, NY 10017
Phone: (800) 334-7626 ext. 5129
Global Water
http://www.globalwater.org/
Project Management Office
3600 S. Harbor Blvd., # 514
Oxnard, CA 93035 USA
Phone: (805) 985-3057
Global Water Challenge
http://www.globalwaterchallenge.org/
1001 Connecticut Ave N.W., Suite 925
Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone: 202-457-0960
Healing Waters International
http://www.healingwatersintl.org/
534 Commons Drive
Golden, CO 80401
Phone: 303-526-7278
Helen Keller International
http://www.hki.org/
352 Park Avenue South, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10010
Phone: 212-532-0544
Hermandad
http://www.hermandad.org/
430 Shore Rd., #6D
Long Beach, NY 11561
Phone: (516) 431-6602
International Health Organization
http://www.ihousa.org/
60 Leo M. Birmingham Parkway, Suite 105
Boston, MA 02135
Phone: 617-254-5077
Islamic Relief USA
http://www.irw.org/whatwedo/water
P.O. Box 5640
Buena Park, CA 90622
Phone: (714) 676-1300
Lifewater
http://www.lifewater.org/
PO Box 3131
San Luis Obispo, CA 93403
Phone: 888-LIFE-H2O (888-543-3426) or 805-541-6634
Living Water International
http://www.water.cc/
P.O. Box 35496
Houston, TX 77235
Phone: 281-207-7800
Living Waters for the World
http://www.livingwatersfortheworld.org/
318 Seaboard Lane, Suite 205
Franklin, TN 37067
Phone: 615-261-4008
Lutheran World Relief
http://www.lwr.org/
700 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21230 USA
Phone: 410-230-2800
Millennium Water Alliance
http://www.mwawater.org/
1980 Post Oak Blvd, Suite 800
Houston, TX 77056
Phone: 713.625.8527
New Forests Project Clean Water Initiative
http://www.newforestsproject.com/
1025 Vermont Avenue
Washington, DC 20007
202-263-5647
Oxfam America
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatwedo/issues_we_work_on/water
226 Causeway St., 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 800-77-OXFAM (800-776-9326) or 617-482-1211
Population Services International
http://www.psi.org/child-survival
1120 19th Street, NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone (202) 785-0072
Rotary International
http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/Pages/ridefault.aspx
1560 Sherman Ave.
Evanston, IL 60201, USA
Phone: 847-866-3000
Rotary-Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group
http://www.wasrag.org/
c/o Horizon Bank 811 Ship Street
St. Joseph, MI 49085, USA
Safe Water International
http://www.safewaterintl.org/
5184 Cambridge Lane
Carpinteria, California 93013 USA
Phone: (805) 705-7743
Save the Children
http://www.savethechildren.org/
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 221-4030 or (800) 728-3843
Seton Institute
http://www.setoninstitute.org/
1800 Sullivan Avenue, Suite 506
Daly City, CA 94015
Phone: (650) 757-2655
Sister Cities International
http://www.sister-cities.org/sci/Sustainable/CleanWater
1301 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Suite 850
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: 202.347.8630
U.S. Fund for UNICEF
https://www.unicefusa.org/
125 Maiden Lane
New York, NY 10038
Phone: 1-800-4UNICEF
Water 1st International
http://www.water1st.org/
PO Box 17974
Seattle, WA 98127
Phone: (206) 297-3024
Water For People
http://www.waterforpeople.org/
6666 W. Quincy Avenue
Denver, CO 80235 U.S.A.
Phone: 303.734.3490
Water Missions International
http://www.watermissions.org/
P.O. Box 31258
Charleston, South Carolina 29417
Phone: 843.769.7395
WaterAid America
http://www.wateraid.org/usa
232 Madison Avenue
Suite 1202
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 683 – 0430
Waterlines
http://www.waterlines.org/
302 East Coronado Road
Santa Fe, NM 87505
Phone: (505) 988-5642
WaterPartners International
http://www.water.org/
2405 Grand Blvd.
Ste. 860, Box 12
Kansas City, MO 64108 USA
Phone: (913) 312-8600
World Vision
http://www.worldvision.org/
P.O. Box 9716
Federal Way, WA 98063-9716
Phone: 1-888-511-6548
Cheers, Sandy
25 OTHER Things I’ve Learned Since Moving to Tucson
In today’s Caliente section of the Star, there is a promising-ly titled article “What I’ve Learned About Tucson” by Coley Ward, a new Caliente reporter who’s been in Tucson about a month longer than I have. The article was an enjoyable read, but….
Let’s just say I’m not a 20-something white male vegetarian, etc. I’m a just-barely-40-something white female non-vegetarian from New England (I claim the whole region, having lived in three of its six states and spent considerable time in the other three) who knits, writes and reads compulsively (not always in that order, but often simultaneously), loves her bike almost more than life itself, and moved here so her partner could accept a call to be Associate Pastor of a liberal, mainstream Christian church. With all that in mind, here’s my list of 25 OTHER Things I’ve Learned Since Moving to Tucson:
- When it rains in the desert, it RAINS. I haven’t seen rain like that here in Tucson since I lived briefly in Florida. And bear in mind, we moved here AFTER last summer’s monsoon, so I’m talking just about the WINTER rainy season.
- I guess I can’t fault you for wanting to have a lawn, even in the desert, but have some wisdom about watering it. I have seen more people, just in my neighborhood, who either: a) overwater their lawns to the point where the street floods, sometimes predictably every afternoon; or b) water their lawns at, say, noon — umm, isn’t that when the sun is at its highest — just sayin’. Come to think of it, maybe I CAN fault you — that’s my water you’re wastin’, too.
- And on the subject of water, I have never lived anywhere where people seemed (in general) to be so blasé about such an essential — and scarce — natural resource. Back in New England, the drought the SW has been experiencing would have inspired mandatory water conservation ages ago.
- Lagging left turn signals — ’nuff said.
- There are at least 10 ways to get from any point A to any point B — none of them direct.
- The Sonoran Desert Museum is a great place to take any visitor who just wants to “see the desert”. And a membership in the Museum (a highly-recommended thing) makes it a great place to spend an afternoon you just don’t want to spend inside.
- You can download tons of classic movies, documentaries, kids programs, travel videos, audio books, and more, all for free, with your Pima County Library card.
- Homeowners associations may not be, by definition, evil, but they can be a pain in the keister — witness the recent dust-up over the Continental Ranch HOA and the garbage contract. (In the interest of full disclosure: we live in Continental Ranch, but as renters have been able to watch most of this as disinterested observers — though it bugs me that I now pay more for less service under the new WM contract.)
- Your friends back home don’t always like it when you call them from Tucson Electric Park on a sunny March day while they’re digging out from under 18 inches of newly-fallen snow.
- But they’ll be sure to ask YOU about the weather come July!
- 4th Avenue is a great place to kill a few hours (and a few dollars). Don’t miss the Spring Street Fair, April 4, 5 and 6.
- Tucson is a fabulous place if you love to bike. Tucson/Pima County has been given a gold-star as a bicycle-friendly community by the League of American Cyclists. Get your copy of the Tucson Metro Bike Map here or pick one up at any bike shop.
- Don’t even think about going near TEP when the Cubs are in town to play the White Sox.
- But DO think about going to TEP and/or Hi Corbett to catch some spring training games. When else are you or your kids going to be able to be that close to bonafide superstars?
- “Tucson casual” — gotta love a city whose attitude towards fashion is function-over-form.
- It takes no time at all for anyone inclined to be a sports fan to become a UofA fan here. I think they put something in the water.
- 340+ days of sunshine a year is GREAT, but I’ve learned to appreciate the cloudy ones, too.
- You don’t know dry skin until you’ve lived in a desert — we now have bottles of moisturizer in every room, both cars, and all our purses and knitting bags. (Which reminds me….)
- Most of the people you will meet in Tucson (at least at first) are not from here. In fact, most of the people you meet in your first months here will be from the same part of the country you just left — odd that.
- Hiking and more hiking. Whether you’re just looking to spend some time outside enjoying the scenery or are searching for a physical challenge in the great outdoors, Tucson has a lot to offer.
- There are few sights more spectacular than the desert in bloom, and a few great places to see it (well, aside from just looking around) are: The Desert Museum; Tohono Chul Park; Tucson Botanical Gardens; and Picacho Peak State Park.
- I don’t really miss snow at all.
- That old saw about Arizona being good for people with allergies — hogwash! (Though our dog will attest to the wonders of Arizona for creatures with arthritis.)
- Contrary to what anyone tells you, it does get COLD here in the desert. Okay, maybe not freeze-your-fingertips-off cold, but cold-enough-to-add-an-extra-blanket-to-the-bed for sure.
- If Kevin O’Neill is offered a head coaching job anywhere else in the NCAA, he’d be a fool not to take it. (BTW: I think this may have been one of the classiest things any NCAA basketball coach has done this season.)
So, what have you learned, about Tucson or yourself, since moving here?
Cheers, Sandy
