When I was growing up, Mother’s Day was always about making a stress-free day for my Mom.  Caring for three kids and keeping track of all the soccer practices, band lessons and the occasional detention was a lot to manage.  So on Mother’s Day each year, my brother, sister and I went to great lengths to make sure that she could sit back, relax and have one day of rest.  From serving her breakfast in bed to taking care of yard and house work, we each pitched in to make sure that she didn’t have to worry about the tasks that she usually undertook to take care of our family. 

However, despite how busy my mother always was, she actually had it relatively easy (sorry Mom!).  She had a couple of basic services that many women around the world don’t have: water and sanitation.  My mother never had to walk five miles to fetch water for our family.  My mother never had to wait until dark to use the toilet, risking assault and illness.  My mother did not have to drop out of school to help her mom carry water for their family.  My mother never had to bury a child because he or she died from diarrhea contracted from unsafe drinking water.  These are the realities that many women around the world face every day.

Women and girls are a great source of potential in the developing world.  Adding one year of schooling to all adult females in a country is associated with an increase of around $700 in GDP per capita.  According to UNICEF, more educated women tend to have healthier children.  One of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to make sure that they receive an education and unlock their potential is to make sure that they have access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene.

GWC and our members prioritize women and girls when it comes to water and sanitation programming.  On World Water Day, The Coca-Cola Company dedicated US$ 6 million in 2011 to water and sanitation partnerships aimed at improving the lives of an estimated 250,000 women and girls.  When planning projects, WaterAid incorporates women’s feedback on well and latrine locations and invites women to form water committees to manage water and sanitation services.  The Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council has a Women Leaders for WASH initiative that “brings together a group of distinguished women leaders all over the world to advocate for improved WASH services.”  These are just a couple examples of what our members are doing; all of our members work daily to reduce this burden that restrains the potential of women and girls around the world.

This Mother’s Day, think about how much your mother did and continues to do for you.  Then consider how much more difficult your lives would have been without water and sanitation.  Please take a couple minutes and visit one of our members to learn about their water and sanitation activities and donate to help provide these basic services for mothers, children and families worldwide.  Help us work toward a day when all mothers are free to focus on the soccer practices and the detentions and not worry about the fundamental health and well being of their children due to the lack of safe water and sanitation.

This post was written by Kyle Sucher, Program Associate at GWC.