For Australians, access to safe, clean water is as easy as turning on a tap. But for millions of children around the world, it is an exhausting and sometimes dangerous daily journey.
Today, 2.1 billion people live without safe drinking water at home. For children, this not only impacts their health and wellbeing, but can be detrimental to their education and future prospects.
Every day more than 1,400 children under the age of five die from diarrhoea. More than half of these deaths are due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene.
ChildFund works in partnership with developing communities that do not have access to clean water to find solutions that will be safer for children and their families.
Here are some of the ways these communities around the world are solving their water problems.
Fog Traps in Laos
Spending months on the road with just a backpack and no fixed itinerary has become a rite of passage for Australia’s youth. Travellers seeking both adventure and affordability will often flock to countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam for their vacation.
These popular tourism destinations offer a thriving local culture, ancient temples, exotic scents and tastes, and beautiful views. For many travellers, this may also be the first time they come face-to-face with child poverty.
Our natural instinct is to help children, whether that’s by making a donation to a local orphanage, volunteering, or sharing your loose change with street kids.
But tourists may not know that “these are behaviours which can keep children in poverty or even in abusive situations,” according to James Sutherland from the ChildSafe Movement.
James adds: “During a visit to a developing country, it is not unusual to see children at risk.” And most travellers have the best of intentions. So here’s a list of seven useful tips to help you react ethically and responsibly to such situations on your travels.
