Water is among the simplest needs in life, and there are still billions of human beings in the world who cannot have clean and safe drinking water. Whenever there is such an unavailability or insecurity of water, children are the ones affected most. In the absence of clean water, children experience frequent diseases, drop out of school, and cannot grow and flourish.
Safe drinking water is not merely the basis of good health, but the foundation of education, cleanliness and general well-being. This is the reason why Dorcas Destiny International (DDI) promotes achieving the accessibility of clean water by children and making communities aware of why safe water is important.
The Global Water Crisis: Key Facts
Despite progress over the past decades, large gaps remain in access to water and sanitation:
- There are approximately 2.1 billion individuals or 1 in 4 people around the globe who do not have access to safe drinking water. Most of them are forced to use unsafe water, like rivers, lakes, or unprotected wells.
- 447 million children worldwide do not have access to reliable drinking water at school, limiting their ability to stay healthy and attend class regularly.
- Unsafe water and poor sanitation contribute to millions of preventable child deaths every year, especially from diarrhoeal diseases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has indicated that drinking water with pollutants may contain pathogens that lead to diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and other disabling diseases.
This set of statistics indicates that clean water is not only a luxury, it’s also a matter of survival and dignity.
How Lack of Clean Water Affects Children
Children who do not have access to clean water are at risk that is much wider than dehydration:
1. Repeat Infections: Repeat infections result due to water that is contaminated with bacteria or parasites. The children aged below five years are particularly susceptible and unsafe water is a contributory factor to diarrhoeal diseases that may be fatal.
2. Lack of Growth and Development: Water-borne diseases may cause malnutrition and slow growth both physical and mental.
3. Lost Education: Children have to work hours every day to get water to their families and several children are not able to attend school as they fall sick because of the lack of safe water.
4. Hygiene Problems: In the absence of clean water, good hygiene habits such as washing hands and taking baths are not easy to practice, and this poses even more problems with the spread of disease.
All these problems explain why the availability of safe water to every child is a universal agenda.
The Connection Between Clean Water and Education
Education is affected directly by access to clean water. Healthy children will have the tendency to attend school regularly and show academic results. Schools with inadequate water supply also find it difficult to keep good hygiene, a factor that further propagates the transmission of diseases among school children.
Having access to clean water in their schools and community centers helps children to:
- Wash their hands regularly
- Hydrate yourself throughout the school day.
- Maintain personal hygiene
- Focus and engage in learning
Clean water helps generate a safer and enabling learning environment among children.
How Dorcas Destiny International Supports Clean Water Access
Dorcas Destiny International works to improve access to clean water and water education for children and families in need. Through community programs and partnerships, DDI helps address both immediate needs and long-term solutions.
These efforts include:
- Supporting access to clean and safe drinking water
- Educating children on safe water use and storage
- Teaching handwashing and hygiene practices
- Raising awareness about preventing waterborne diseases
By combining water access with education, DDI helps children understand how clean water protects their health and supports their daily lives.
Why Community Involvement Is Essential
To access clean water sustainably, the communities need to participate. Water safety education to families, schools and local leaders makes the solutions long-lasting. Children also act as the promoter of healthy practices once they are educated about the need to use clean water at a tender age.
Dorcas Destiny International has been collaborating with communities to keep children out of danger because of unsafe water conditions. This is to reinforce families and provide better healthier environments to the future generations.
A Future Built on Health and Hope
Every glass of clean water represents health, safety, and opportunity. When children have access to safe water, they are more likely to grow strong, stay in school, and reach their full potential.
Clean water is not a privilege. It is a foundation for life, dignity, and development.
To learn more about how Dorcas Destiny International supports children and communities, visit www.dorcasdestinyintl.org.