imagine water scarcity in the usa

Each day more than a billion people cannot just go to the tap and get a drink of water. They can’t toss a load of dirty clothes into the washer and walk away. Two billion people don’t even have access to a toilet. According to the United Nations, water scarcity is a daily nightmare for one in five people on the planet.

The crazy thing is, that this is a problem the world can solve. While there are no shortage of organizations working to bring safe drinking water and sanitation to everyone, we have a very long way to go. Even now, in 2010, every 15 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease.

A group we’d like you to know about is the British non-governmental organization (NGO) WaterAid. Since 1981, the organization works on both a local level, in areas without clean water or sanitation, and on legislative issues in the U.K.. WaterAid’s vision “is a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation.” Throughout the years, they’ve had some influential help. During the 1990s, Prince Charles became WaterAid’s first president and he continues to support their work today. In 2008/09 they raised about $62.7 million dollars (£43.8 million).

This year they are working on raising awareness of the upcoming world-wide summit reviewing the progress of the Millennium Development Goals. WaterAid want to keep the pressure on international leaders to make real and significant improvements for water quality and sanitation. So, they launched a contest for young filmmakers in association with Cannes Lions and YouTube. Entrants had 48 hours to create a one minute ad to show people why it is important for the Millennium Development Goals to be achieved. The films had to be specifically about water and sanitation.

The winning ad will be announced on May 31, and the lucky filmmakers will win a trip to Cannes. Here is our favorite from the over 500 submissions:

We can’t even imagine a life without clean, abundant water. What do you think it will take to see the Millennium Development Goals make progress? Will we ever have a world where everyone has access to clean water and good sanitation? Post your thoughts below. Oh, and if you thought one of the other videos from the Cannes Lion / YouTube selection is better than our pick, share the link with us in the comments.

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