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70% of the World Is Water — But So Often, There’s Not a Drop to Drink
When you think of places where girls have to walk for hours to carry back water, you might tend to think of hot, dry regions of Africa. But water shortages can happen anywhere in the world—from remote villages in Albania to cities right here in the United States. Schoolchildren learn that water covers 70% of the planet—it sounds so plentiful. But the fresh water we drink and use in our homes and on our farms only makes up 3% of the world’s water. And most of that is unavailable—locked up in frozen glaciers or otherwise inaccessible. So providing clean water is more difficult than it might sound at first glance.…
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Water Wells Help Keep Peace, Improve Living in South Sudan Villages
Nada Shawish Communications Specialist for Islamic Relief USA Reports from Tigili Village. “Your responsibility is cleanliness,” reads a sign posted to a tree that an Islamic Relief hygiene and water source management session is being held under. The teacher is local Islamic Relief staff, who has good working knowledge of Tigili village in South Sudan, and a good relationship with the people here–because he’s from the area himself. Nadu Hamney is one of the village elders and he described some of what they’re learned in the free education sessions. “We learned hygiene training, we learned how to keep the water point clean, and how to solve disputes between us concerning…
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Turning the Water Back on in Detroit
Fareeha Amir is a Media Specialist at Islamic Relief USA. I had my preconceptions about Detroit, as many others do: Detroit was a once great thriving city that’s rundown now and yearning for life again. But I found out quickly that the people who live in Detroit don’t feel that way about their city—it’s a place with a lot of potential and high spirits, citizens just need help from the rest of the United States to get where they want to be. I was fortunate enough to be part of one such effort with Islamic Relief USA to present two checks to the Wayne Metro Community Council and the United…
