Would you like that with or without malaria? Watch this creative way some New Yorkers raised money for the UNICEF Tap Project.

The Appalachian trail is 2,178 miles long and runs from Maine to Georgia. Steven and Matt are a father and son duo who love to hike. They decided to put their love of the outdoors to use by hiking to raise money for Water For People. They plan to start at the southern end of the trail in April and end up in Maine by August.

You can find out more details on their website—Hiking For Water. After they start, you’ll be able to track their hiking and fundraising progress.

An invitation from Blue Planet Run Foundation:

Come Out With Family and Friends March 19, 22 and 28 to TAPPED, the Movie and Support Safe Drinking Water Projects

Blue Planet Run is marking World Water Week with 3 fund-raising showings of the award-winning documentary, TAPPED. TAPPED is from the producers of Who Killed The Electric Car? and I.O.U.S.A. The movie portrays the size of the global bottled water industry and its negative impact on the world’s environment, health and local economies.

We are proud to put these showings on with our partner, Earthlust, the maker of our beautiful, eco-conscious water bottles. There will be 3 showings at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA in the Mountain View Room:

* Friday, March 19, 7pm (wine and snacks will be served)
* Monday, March 22, 10:30 a.m. (babies welcome and drop off child care available)
* Sunday, March 28, 5 p.m. (family friendly)

There is a suggested donation of $10. All proceeds will benefit Blue Planet Run and our work to provide safe drinking water for life to people in need for as little as $30 per person.

From Channel 19: A Global Social Media Network. Get a glimpse of sanitation in India.

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A Twitter update from one of Katie Spotz’s friend’s:

“Just had a chat with Katie on the sat-phone. She’s great, but we were rudely interrupted by a fish hitting her face! [Sam]”

Katie has been rowing from Africa to South America for more than 52 days. Her cause: To raise money for Blue Planet Run Foundation and to raise awareness of the need for clean drinking water in many parts of the world.

I’ve been following her blog. This is a strong woman, both physically and mentally. Can you imagine living in a high-tech row boat? She has a few conveniences, like solar power so she can blog and get fresh water. Of course, she has fresh fish flying all around her!

Encourage Katie by leaving a comment on her blog. She’ll reach land in 28 days at the soonest. But it could be much more if she encounters strong currents, winds, or a big storm.

More than 40% of the people who live in Yemen don’t have access to clean drinking water. People often use scarves to filter out large pieces of debris, without realizing that the real dangers in the water slip right through. Those are the microbes that cause debilitating diarrhea.

The Silver Filter Company recently introduced silver-clay filters that kill microbes. The filters sort of look like clay pots you’d use for planting. They are that simple. Yet the silver kills the microbes in the water on contact. (Small amounts of silver are used; they don’t affect health.) These filters are improving lives for children and adults alike. For the complete story, see Silver Filters: Providing Clean Water to All.

Shigella is a bacteria that thrives where basic sanitation and clean drinking water are not. Right now, that’s Haiti. People who lost their homes are living in tent cities. Waste is accumulating. Water is hard to find.

The New York Times reports:

The problem has become impossible to overlook in many districts of Port-au-Prince, with the stench of decomposing bodies replaced by that of excrement. Children in some camps that are still lacking latrines and portable toilets play in open areas scattered with the waste. The light rains here this week caused some donated latrines in the camps to overflow, illustrating how the problem would grow more acute as the rainy season intensified in the months ahead.

The earthquakes may be over, but Haiti still needs help. In fact, the place was in need of severe help before the earthquake. Stand With Haiti, donate to Partners in Health. They’ve been on the scene for many years and are still there.

This story from WaterAid:

Seven year old Punam Kumari Shaha brushes her teeth before going to school in Malahanma, Nepal. Her community worked with WaterAid’s partner NEWAH to build their own water supply and she is now able to use clean, safe water from a pump that is near her house.

As part of the project her community is also learning about hygiene education and Punam has been attending health education classes at school once a week. She has an older sister and they now teach each other and their family about good hygiene practices.

By educating people about good hygiene and the links between poor water, poor sanitation and disease communities can gain the full benefits from their new water and sanitation projects.

Donate to WaterAid to help other children like Punam.

The distance from Loch Lomond, Scotland to the Sahara desert is 4,000 miles. On March 22, Mark Spriggs plans to start that trek. He was drawn to take action after he learned about the lack of water in developing countries. This is his personal call to action to raise money and awareness for this worthy cause.

According to my map, there is a body of water between the U.K. and the continent. How does Mark plan to cross it? You can find out the details of his route by visiting the Walking 4 Water website. Contact him if you want to walk with him.

The money Mark raises will go to Pump Aid. This agency specializes in low-cost solutions that require community support and maintenance.

Watch this video. Then go to the One Drop website and make a commitment. You can see what other people like yourself are doing around the world to help solve the global water crisis.

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