Rev. John L. McCullough
Photo: T.Abraham/CWS |
From the Executive Director's Desk...
Water: A fundamental justice
May 2007
By Rev. John L. McCullough, Executive Director and CEO, Church World
Service
As Congress hammers out next year’s foreign assistance budget, it is time to remind our leaders that a top priority should be funding a very fundamental form of justice and dignity – ensuring that all those living in poverty have access to clean, safe, secure sources of water and sanitation.
Biblical Reflection
"But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like
an ever flowing stream.”
-- Amos 5: 24
This very popular passage from Amos caps a powerful set of warnings that the prophet utters to various peoples about their errant ways – people who have strayed from the righteous path economically, politically, socially, and spiritually. He saves his most serious message about justice for his own country – people who were specially chosen and given many laws about the proper way to live in community.
As I look about the world today, I see the violence, environmental destruction, despair, inequalities, and impoverishment all around us. There are increasing water shortages, including in our own country. And one cannot ignore the impacts of climate change on water resources, already being felt by people in the global South.
I feel like we need many Amoses. Many people living in poverty do not have access to the most fundamental human need – clean water. For them, justice literally would be flowing waters – close to where they live, clean, dependably present, affordable – and proper sanitation.
Would you be willing to be an Amos and join Church World Service in calling the U.S. Congress to act on this vital concern?
A critical need
Unless you live in a drought-prone area or rely on a well, you probably are like most of us and take your ability to turn on the tap whenever you want pretty much for granted. It’s hard to conceive that some 1.2 billion of our sisters and brothers do not have access to safe water while 2.5 billion do not have access to improved sanitation.
Consequently, 2 million children die each year from diseases spread by dirty water and the lack of decent sanitation. These are totally unnecessary deaths. Women and girls often bear a special toll because of social norms requiring them to find and collect water. They walk an average of 3.72 miles daily just to carry out this task. As they collect water and wash clothes in rivers and streams, they put themselves at greater health risk from diseases or infestations from organisms living in or near water sources.
The moral challenge
Church World Service has a long and noteworthy track record helping to build wells, provide water and sanitation to communities around the world, and enabling them to maintain their own, affordable community-owned water resources. In FY 2005, we spent roughly three-quarters of a million dollars funding community water projects in eight countries.(Read more about our work and further background on a range of water issues.)
While we are proudly doing our part, we recognize that water is a public trust, a global public good. Because it is critical for life and human dignity, access to water needs to be fully implemented as a fundamental human right. Governments ultimately have a duty to ensure all have affordable, equitable access to water. The United States has the capacity to fully commit itself and its resources to help ensure safe, affordable water for all members of the human family.
Notably, in 2000, the U.S. as part of the world community pledged to halve by 2015 the proportion of people living without clean water and sanitation. To meet this goal, nearly 100 million people annually need to obtain access.
The legislative opportunity
In my September commentary, I described an encouraging piece of legislation enacted in 2005, the Senator Paul Simon Water for the PoorAct. This law makes safe, affordable and sustainable water supplies and sanitation a priority of U.S. foreign policy.
As of mid-2007, however, the legislation has not been genuinely implemented or funded. Instead, our foreign assistance for water has focused almost entirely on emergency assistance for a few countries. Water for immediate, emergency needs in crisis situations is obviously crucial. But we have the resources – if we have the will – to look beyond these crises to solving the ongoing condition of deprivation – and daily deaths – due to chronic shortages of clean water and sanitation.
Ensuring sustainable access to proper water and sanitation creates numerous positive ripple effects – better health, improved school attendance, greater worker productivity, to name a few. It is a wise investment, and as such, our foreign assistance dollars for water should be allocated based on a country’s need. It should be channeled through our long-term development account so it can be a predictable, on-going source of aid – rather than just a tap we turn on or off based on politics or short-term factors.
Church World Service joins with partner organizations in the recently established Religious Working Group on Water in calling on Congress to substantially increase funding for water and sanitation projects in the Development Assistance Account for fiscal year 2008. This would be a major step for the American people in doing our part to achieve the goal of water for all.
Please take a few minutes now to be an Amos and write your members of Congress.
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