Water

"Americans use 270 billion gallons of water on their 50 million lawns. This is enough water to give every person a shower for four days in a row." (Burdick, 2003)

Bawa has no clean water or no sanitation system. Although it may be hard for you to imagine, this is a common problem throughout the world. Can you imagine not having water flowing from a tap in your home? What would life be like without that luxery? Less than 15% of the world's population has adequate water supplies. The problem is particularly serious throughout much of Africa. In coming decades, water may become the most scarce and coveted natural resource, serving as an impetus for international hostility. The next world war may not be about religion or oil, but about water.

In Bawa, all drinking water is obtained from small rivers that are often heavily contaminated with human excrement. One major objective of BHI is to provide clean drinking water to the residents of Bawa and neighboring villages.

Links:
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/water/Africa/index.html http://who.int/water_sanitation_health/en