Story By CREZ DICKENS

Clean water is a basic human right, but it can be easy to take it for granted in our developed countries.

But there are 2.5 billion people in the world who lack access to clean water and good sanitation. Over 748 million people don’t have clean drinking water, while nearly 1,400 children die every day from diseases caused by lack of sanitation. With access to clean water, they can live healthier and more productive lives.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene is one of Rotary’s seven Areas of Focus and at the heart of this is the Rotary Action Group, known as WASH-RAG.

WASH-RAG was formed in 2007 by a group of Rotarians and recognised by Rotary International. Since then, it has facilitated hundreds of projects – helping clubs find partners, ensuring sustainability, stressing the importance of a needs-driven approach, and developing best practices.

WASH-RAG encourages an holistic, integrated approach in which water is not the end in itself, but the means to a better life and livelihood in the community.

WASH-RAG links water and sanitation to improved hygiene, better health, and empowerment of the community – especially women, irrigation and agriculture, education and literacy and, ultimately, child mortality.

With the Rotary International Convention taking place in Singapore this year, WASH-RAG is hosting a World Water Summit on May 24th from 8am - 4pm with the theme: “We can’t wait”. It will focus on sanitation and the need to keep human excreta separate and safely managed. It will also be broadcast online.

Toilets are a big part of the solution, but sanitation is equally crucial. These may not be savoury topics to consider, but focusing on pit emptying, transportation, processing, distribution and sales of fertiliser. In health care facilities this is vital. Sanitation includes the essential process of contaminated waste management.

Held each year on the Friday before the Rotary International Convention, the WASH-RAG summit provides an opportunity for Rotarians to gain more knowledge, share best practices, listen and learn from experts and build relationships.

Almost a third of the world do not even have basic handwashing services, such as soap, at home, so this summit, only the second of its kind in over 50 years, is important. Participants will be able to find actionable ways to address these issues and help solve the worldwide water crisis.

Scottish Rotarian, Barbara Lovegrove, was at the heart of a project in Nepal with the Rotary Club of Kirriemuir where they helped to rebuild a school following a devastating earthquake which rocked the Himalayan country.

Rotarians raised funds to rebuild classrooms, toilet blocks in two schools and reinstate a water supply in a remote village. The Kirriemuir Rotarians in Angus also worked on another humanitarian project involving eight rural schools in Nepal.

Another project illustrating the power of WASH initiatives involved Rotarians Sally and Keith Halsey, from Saltash Rotary, who spent two years teaching in Uganda. Their Cornwall-based club was the international partner for the project, working alongside the Rotary Club of Kabarole from Uganda as the host club, to complete a number of community projects.

This included improving a medical clinic and bringing clean water to the college. From remote villages to dense urban areas, when children lack access to clean water and toilets, they are often forced to leave school. The rise of disease poses a threat to everyone’s health, especially affecting women, girls and other vulnerable groups.

Preventable diseases can be reduced through the construction of sanitation facilities and culturally appropriate hygiene education.

The WASH-RAG Ambassadors support clubs by advising on project plans and helping implement sustainable projects and global grants. The Rotary Foundation has invested $148 million in resource management interventions globally.