Water Around The World: Morristown Students Write About Water

We are four girls that go to unity charter school. We are in fifth grade. Our names are Jaclyn, Grace, Mattea, and Maryliz. We are working on a project, called the Panasonic Eco Project. We have to take actions to help people all around the world get clean, fresh water so they don’t get diseases. For this action, we decided to an article in the newspaper to spread awareness in hopes of gaining more support for our cause. Below is some of the research we’ve discovered.

In many other countries, people are not given the access to clean water. Many people have to walk long distances to get water. This later causes diseases that are life-threatening. Most people in these less fortunate countries don’t have access to the right medics, so they unfortunately die. Over 3.4 million people die a year from diseases caused from water (voanews.com). Most of the deaths occur in African countries including, Nigeria, Libya, and Ghana.

Hepatitis E is a virus caused from contaminated water. This virus causes jaundice, yellow eye discoloration, liver pains, and joint pain. Over 3.3 million people are diagnosed with Hepatitis E a year and 44,000 of them die (who.int). Most of the children that are diagnosed with this virus, have been diagnosed with hepatitis A, a different strain of hepatitis before.

Guinea Worm is a another disease that can be caused by a bacteria found in unsafe drinking water. Guinea worm, moves into a person's body. The symptoms of Guinea Worm are intense pain, slight fever, itchy rash, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and discomfort. Guinea Worm can make people be in so much pain that they can not move, go to work, or go to school. In the beginning of 2012, only four countries had people who contracted Guinea Worm, but by December of 2012, 192 countries and territories had Guinea Worm cases (cartercenter.org). This disease spreads quickly.

The Typhoid Fever is a bacteria infection that spreads from drinking contaminated water. The symptoms that you can get from the the Typhoid Fever are a fever, diarrhea, skin rashes, and abdominal pain. You can prevent the Typhoid Fever by drinking safe clean water. The Typhoid Fever is most common in developing countries, although the Typhoid Fever occurs in other parts of world.

We can all help by donating to water organizations to help people get clean water, so that they don’t catch these deadly diseases. By donating money, we are helping fund charities, so that they can help bring clean water, into needed areas. Some of the charities you can donate to are, Charity: Water, Water.org, Water For People, and many more.