Did you know that a person can live approximately one month without food but little more than a week without water? Although water covers nearly three-quarters of the planet's surface, only 3% is fresh water. Eighty percent of sickness and death among children is caused by unsafe water. Improved water and sanitation can reduce the mortality and morbidity rates of even the most serious of water-related diseases by 20% to 80%.
Children walk for hours each day to collect water for their families because only 40% of all Nicaraguans have access to water for drinking, bathing, and cooking without the threat of acquiring diseases. The problem of unsafe and inadequate water supplies in developing countries is immense and complex; Wisconsin/Nicaragua Partners of the Americas, Inc. responded to it with an exciting project. Through the Potable Water project, Wisconsin well drillers and other proponents of access to clean water received a donation of a well-drilling rig and various equipment. Technical expertise is also being offered, which is only the beginning of this much needed project.
