Did you know … ?

•  Waterborne disease cause death in 1.4 million children every year—that's one child every 20 seconds.
• 50 percent of hospitals are full of patients suffering from water-related ailments.
• Contaminated water claims more deaths than any war has claimed through guns.
• There are more people in the world with access to a cell phone than access to a toilet.
• A five-minute shower in America uses more water than the average slum dweller in a developing country uses in a whole day.

Staggering? Yes.

Scary? Absolutely.

Hopeless? Not on our watch.

Co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White, Water.org is a nonprofit organization that works to bring clean water to communities in Africa, South Asia, and Central America. They use a multi-pronged approach to ensure every penny donated goes to where it's needed most. They involve local community organizations, appropriate technology, and the use of the water credit system, a microeconomics loan program all with the sole goal of bringing clean water to communities in need.

How, you ask, can I help?

• Donate. A $25 donation is enough to give water for life to one person.
• Information is knowledge. Sign up for email updates and stay informed about the issue.
• Get Talking. Facebook, Tweet, YouTube, and talk about the issue.
• Shop! Buy yourself and your buddies a water.org water bottle. 100 percent of proceeds go back to the cause.
• Be in the Know. Join the my.Water.org community to choose a community, follow their progress, and help make a difference.

With thousands of charities and millions of dollars being donated each year, why should you care about water? Water is the basis for human life. Clean water is a fundamental right that every living, breathing being is innately entitled to.

In the developed world, we take for granted the clean water that flows from our taps.

Imagine a life without it.

Pretty impossible, huh?

Use that thought as the impetus to use your power to ensure others receive the basic human right of pure, clean water.