Help families get clean water

Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps

More than 1.3 billion people around the world don't have clean water to drink. That's nearly as many people as live in China. And, when conflict and disaster force families deeper into poverty, that number keeps growing. So what can you do about it today?

Visit Mercy Corps' Action Center to End World Hunger and tell Congress the world's poorest need clean water. It'll only take a few moments, and your voice will help make a difference for more than a billion people.

Consider there are women in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo — like the young woman in this picture — who have had to walk for hours just to dip dirty water from a puddle. The lack of clean drinking water directly causes two million deaths every year, and accounts for half the illness in the developing world.

How long do you have to walk to get a cold, refreshing glass of water? In that amount of time, you can urge your Representatives to ensure clean water for families around the world.