It is interesting to hear in Sociology class how clean water is a part of our daily needs. Water is a precious commodity, but not everyone has access to water. And those that do have access can only find unsafe water to drink.

According to Water.org, there are over 780 million people without access to clean water. Each year, 3.4 million of those people die from the diseases they get from drinking dirty water. Only ten percent of waste water gets treated globally. That water is then let back into our lakes, rivers, and streams, where most people go to fetch their drinking water.

It is also stated that over eighty eight percent of those people get severe diarrhea from drinking dirty water. Ninety percent of those are children and are under the age of five. Sadly those children cannot survive from the diarrhea that get and there is minimal medical help.

In forty five countries, women and children spend majority of the day collecting water from the closest water source they can find. Sadly this water source is not safe to drink. It can be from a nearby river where it is polluted with trash and or sanitation. Also, not everyone knows to boil their water to make it safe for drinking, yet in some cases, boiling their water may not rid all of the deadly bacteria swimming around in their water.

Though I am not a wealthy person, I feel very privileged just living where I do. I have the access to drink from a sustainable source, where I know the water is safe to drink. If I am not sure of its safety, I can go to the store to buy water in bottled form, or buy a tap filter to use at home. I am saddened that there are others out there that lack water as a resource, let alone safe water to drink. There are companies that a person can donate to ensure people have a safe source of water, but those countries who are too poor to help clean up their sanitation problems, to help build wells for clean water, to help their people obtain the resources they need are almost heartbreaking.