The Honorable Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator:
I am writing to express my dismay on the status of the water crisis in Ethiopia. We know people are suffering in areas such as Ethiopia, but due to low publicity, not much is being done about it. The support of many is needed to further efforts to provide Ethiopia with clean sanitized water.
Ethiopia has a population of 85 million, yet 75.9 million people have no access to sanitized water and 49 million have access to no water whatsoever. It is estimated that over 500,000 Ethiopian children will die before the age of five this year and one out of every ten children will never have their first birthday. Water is the biggest killer of infants and is the main cause of illnesses in adults. This is surprising because most people talk about Ethiopians dying because of diseases and infections such as HIV, AIDS, and Malaria before mentioning a lack of sanitized drinking water killing children and adults. Diseases such as trachoma, leprosy, tuberculosis, whooping cough, tetanus, and diphtheria are disease that all thrive in conditions where there is hardly any freshwater and sanitation is poor. These diseases, which are spreading throughout not only Ethiopia, but most of the world, can be controlled with better sanitation. They shouldn’t be drinking and washing in the same water both animals and humans bodily waste contaminate. The sad part is that they currently don’t have a choice.
The lack of sanitized drinking water in Ethiopia is a massive issue that needs to be managed and improved. One way to help improve the situation in Ethiopia is drip irrigation. Drip irrigation is basically a network of pipes, installed either on the surface or below ground, with punctures or holes that deliver water directly to the roots of the crops. This technique keeps evaporation losses low, at an efficiency rate of 95%. Drip irrigation systems cut water use by an estimated 40% to 60% compared to gravity systems and can cost around $500- $1,200 per acre. Unfortunately, money might be a setback for some areas of Ethiopia, so starting more affordable conservation projects such as having rural farmers building small reservoirs to collect and store rain water can help the crisis. This will allow people to take water collected from the rainy season and use it in the dry season. Starting small projects like these can help prevent Ethiopia from using all their freshwater on agriculture, like they are now, and instead use it domestically for themselves.
The people of Ethiopia need people like us to represent them when they are unable to represent themselves. We, as Americans, are obligated to use our freedom of speech to represent those that are less fortunate. Therefore, the United States should be able to help lift the burden of the water crisis in Ethiopia. More efficient systems, such as the ones mentioned above, will help the water crisis and in turn save the lives of thousands of Ethiopians.
Sincerely,
Raphael Panayotis
4084 Oregon Street Apt. # 7
San Diego, CA 92104
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Having been to Ethiopia twice in the last two years, I can attest to the need for clean water in the rule parts of the country. Not only does the dirty water cause death and illness, the lack of water creates great hardship on women and children who must walk many hours each day to fetch water for their family....water so dirty that Americans would not put thier hands in it, much less drink it!
ReplyDeleteThe solutions are often simple....I am involved in Water to Thrive (www.watertothrive.org), a non-profit that is bringing fresh clean water to rural parts of Ethiopia with hand dug wells, spring protection systems and bore hole wells. For about $10/beneficiary, we are providing clean safe water source that will last 20-25 years. We are improving lives, one community at a time.
Dick Moeller