water is life

This morning I went to a talk about the charity WaterAid, by Paul Hyles, whose day job is with Scottish Water. It's so easy for us to get clean water at the turn of a tap, but for many people in other parts of the world, this isn't the case. Clean water and sanitation come under No6 of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals., but 785 million people do not have clean water close to home. WaterAid aims to help reduce this number.

I was very taken with Paul's t-shirt. I have visited some pretty awful toilets on my travels, and have been in places where there are no toilets, so you just have to go wherever you can. Ok in the woods, but not in an urban area and especially difficult for women. Goodness only knows how women and girls manage their periods without privacy and running water.

November 19th is World Toilet Day and this year's theme is "Leaving No one Behind -  A toilet is not just a toilet. It’s a life-saver, dignity-protector and opportunity-maker.
We must expand access to safe toilets and leave no one behind. Because whoever you are, wherever you are, sanitation is your human right."