Newspapers / Winston-Salem State University Student … / April 16, 2007, edition 1 / Page 6
Part of Winston-Salem State University Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
s The News Argus April 16, 2007 Features Planet’s poorest suffer greatly from lack of clean water By Scott Canon and Shashank Bengali MCT WIRE SERVICE HARBEL, Liberia The quiet, thin 19-year-old is up before 7 a.m. each day to walk about a quarter-mile to a well. Patience Yarkpawolo totes water for her entire family in the household's sole 6-gallon bucket. The water must last the day for cook ing, cleaning, washing and drinking. For seven people. Although the town's well is chlorinated twice a month, Yarkpawolo suspects that's not often enough. Her twin 4-year-old sisters often suffer upset stomachs and diarrhea, illnesses she blames partly on the water supply. "Somehow, they are always getting sick," she said. "We don't know exactly what is the reason. But we are not so sure about the water in the well." The West African nation has been beset by two decades of civil war and political upheaval that left most of the country's 3.5 million souls to rely on crude wells and bore holes. Sometimes the cause is war, sometimes just crushing poverty, but the lack of clean water hits the planet's poorest people like nothing else. "Nothing can more fundamentally change people's lives than a supply of safe water," said Gary White, who heads the Kansas City, Mo.-based WaterPartners International. "We take it for granted when we turn on the tap. That's not life for everybody." A recent United Nations report declared a global water crisis as the world's chief barrier to lifting entire regions out of poverty and identified the absence of clean water as a sure predictor of shortened life expectancy. And the reporf s authors said countries rich and poor are doing far too little to fix the prob lem, investing much more in guns than in plumbing. It noted that more is spent on miner al water on the dining tables of the wealthy than for passable drinking water for the desti tute. There is some progress. The World Health Organization has had success in pleading with Photos courtesy of WaterPartners Int I. Layout by Sharrod Patterson In many parts of the world, getting the water needed for drinking and other uses is not just a matter of turning on a faucet. The lack of clean water causes sickness and death in developing nations. poor families to put a few drops of bleach into their household water supplies, an ad hoc but effective way to keep bacteria in check. A new $3 filtering straw can be worn around the neck and lasts for a year. "Development doesn't happen unless you have clean drinking water and sanitation. There's no getting around it," said David Douglas, president of Water Advocates, which lobbies on the issue. Dirty water is expensive. The U.N. estimates the economic toll — lost labor, added medical bills, girls kept from school so they can carry water — at $38 billion a year. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, the cost is guessed at $15 billion, equal to 60 percent of international aid flowing to the region. Sometimes, the solution lies simply in smarts. Water fixes need to fit the locale. A U.N. report issued in September concluded that imclean water is a greater danger to life than war. And it faulted both rich and poor countries for doing too little about the problem. "It's such a solvable problem," said John Kayser, a spokesman for Water for People. "We're just not spending enough money." ON SELECT NEW NISSANS 2007 NISSAN ALTIMA Starting at $19,800. As shown $25,300' 2007 NISSAN VERSA Starting at $12,550. As shown $14,550^ 2007 NISSAN SENTRA Starting at $14,750. As shown $17,030^ 2007 NISSAN XTERRA Starting at $20,050. As shown $ 26,200* SEE WHAT THAT DIPLOMA GETS YOU? NO PAYMENT FOR 90 DAYS STOP BY YOUR NISSAN DEALER NOW. NissanUSA.cotn/signature_graduate NISSAIM “2 SHIFT_your ride 1 MSRP to, 2007 Alt,ma 2 5 S with manual tran.,m,ss,on slanmg at (05767) and a= shown Alt.ma 3.5 SE w.th manual „ansm,ss,on and spcr, packago (05917), oxcludas tax, t,tlo, l,c.n.c and $6 5 do..,nat»n chargo. 2 MSRP for 2007 Sontra 2.0 manual tran.m,s.,on start- mn a. (42767) and as shown 2 0 SL wrth CVT transmission (429t 7). cxciudcs tax. trtio l.ccnsc and $615 dostinat.on chargo. 3 MSRP for 2007 Xtorra 4X2 X w,th manual transmission starting at (04757) and as shown Xterra 0« «™d transmission (04667). rxdudos ta. litio liccnso and $650 doslination chargo. 4 MSRP for 2007 Vorsa 1.8 S with manual transmission starting al (52267) and as shown Versa 1.8 SL with manual transmission (52367), excludos ax frtc. liconso and $615 destination chaigo. Cash back from Nissan on now 2007 Xtorra 2007 Sontra 2007 Front^r, 2007 Vorsa, and 2007 Altim.i (excluding the Altima Hjbnd) from dealer stock. Cannot bo combined with other offers Ooalor .sets actual price, O Tax. title and liconso extra Deferred interest added to cor,tracf balance ^d ^yable over remaining contract term New purchases only. No payment fo, qualified buyers, subject to NMAC/IFS credit approval. Limited up to 60-month contracts^ See dealer fer detai s. Always wear your seatbelt and please don t drink and dr,.e, Nissan, she Nissan Brat^d Symbol. 'SHIFT_'’ faglmo. and Nissan model names aro Nissan trademarks 2007 Nissan North Amcrica* Inc Visit NissanUSA.com
Winston-Salem State University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 16, 2007, edition 1
6
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75