Here’s a little video that (almost) blew up the Internet this week. In it, Nestlé Chairman (and former CEO) Peter Brabeck calls the idea of a right to water ‘extreme’ and seems to argue that the free market is the answer. 

Our Director, George McGraw, did a little digging (pun intended) and published an analysis on the Huffington Post today. What do Brabeck and Nestlé believe, and why does it matter? What’s the ‘right to water’ anyway? Read more to find out. 

“Finish your water - There are thirsty kids in Africa.”

Our founder - George McGraw - on the Huffington Post this World Water Day. Read it here. 

Los Angeles, CA

DIGDEEP HQ is in the heart of Los Angeles - the city with the largest homeless population in the US. The infamous Skid Row is just blocks from our office - a place where nearly 50,000 men, women, and children struggle every day to find basic services like a clean source of water or the privacy of a bathroom. 

Whether it’s flowing from our faucets, swirling in our toilets, or filling up our bath tubs – most Americans take our easy access to water for granted. Not so for our homeless neighbors, who often face criminal or civil sanctions when they try to improvise necessary solutions.  

Last December, David Busch faced charges of public nuisance for improvising a restroom on a Venice sidewalk, using nothing more than a bucket of soapy water, a sponge and a tent for privacy. Fortunately, Busch was acquitted, but the problem remains: homeless Americans face one of the largest human rights challenges in the country. And few of us are paying any attention. 

This year, DIGDEEP is focused on bringing awareness of the water crisis home. In addition to our important work abroad, we’re pledging to work closely with at-risk communities in the US - like American Indians and the urban homeless - to find meaningful ways to defend their right to water.

Every American has a right to the water we need to live in dignity. Help DIGDEEP defend your human right to water by making a donation. We’ll put 100% of it to use in the field. 

Happy World Water Day from DIGDEEP HQ!

This is part of a series for World Water Day celebrating our global water access projects. Help DIGDEEP defend your right to water this March 22nd by visiting digdeepwater.org 

Kajo Keji, South Sudan

Almost 2 years ago we flew across the globe to celebrate independence for South Sudan. We met local beneficiaries, established friendships, and began an ambitious slate of field projects with our partner WHI that continue today.

In some parts of rural South Sudan, up to 70% of the population lacks access to a safe and reliable source of clean water. Water projects, like wells, are bringing much-needed health and opportunity to hundreds of communities, schools, and clinics every year. 

But there are still some marginalized groups that fall through the cracks.

Isaac Buk, for instance, is a criminal. Until recently Isaac, his guards, and his fellow inmates have not enjoyed access to clean water.

The right to water for prisoners is protected by many international treaties, including the Geneva Conventions and the European Charter of Human Rights. Without clean water, closed communities like prisons become breeding grounds for disease. Water also provides a unique security concern. Several prisoners have escaped from Yapa while collecting water in recent years. 

You can see the full report for the Yapa Prison well here.

DIGDEEP’s water projects recognize the needs of individuals like Isaac, who don’t fit the traditional charity model.  We believe that every person has a right to the clean water they need to live in dignity. Because no one – prisoner or free – deserves to be sentenced to a lifetime of illness.

This is part of a series for World Water Day celebrating our international water access projects. Help DIGDEEP defend your right to water this March 22nd by supporting our work at digdeepwater.org 

Lokando, Cameroon

It’s just starting to rain at DIGDEEP’s newest field site in Lokando. The rain will bring the mud, and the mud will slow down progress on a new tap system scheduled to bring clean water to over 7000 people later this year. 

But not to worry! Through a unique collaboration with our friends at Water Collective we’re using the rainy season to collect data on human rights and economic sustainability that will make the Lokando project one of the most innovative worldwide.

Fifty percent of Cameroon’s 8.1 million people live in rural communities without access to an improved water source. But conditions within a community can vary widely from place to place. DIGDEEP’s human rights metrics treat each community - each person - as a unique partner for change. We empower community volunteers to study things like public health, school attendance, and income gaps to ensure that their project has the best chance for success and sustainability.

In addition to providing a significant percentage of project funding, the people of Lokando have already become active builders, teachers, and advisors… all with the hope of transforming a small stream of dirty water into a reliable source for future generations. 

Leanne lives in Lokando. She wakes up at 5am every day to fetch water before cooking, cleaning, and farming. She always takes the extra time to boil it before giving it to one of her seven children. Leanne - and many women like here - are the real strength behind this project, freely donating their limited time and incredible insight.

Join DIGDEEP as we defend the human right to water - for Leanne, for Lokando, and for you. 

This is part of a series for World Water Day celebrating our international water access projects. Help DIGDEEP defend your right to water this March 22nd by visiting digdeepwater.org

For the run-up to World Water Day, Katherine Straus shares updates from each of DIGDEEP’s active field sites. Katherine is Director for People and Places.

SMITH LAKE, NM

We’ve been trying for months to drill this fact into your brain: 13% of American Indians do not have access to clean water. The water crisis is closer to home than you think.

DIGDEEP’s newest field site is only 10 hours form LA - in Smith Lake, New Mexico. We’re piloting a project in Smith Lake to improve trucked water delivery to rural homes. Water delivery gaps are a huge, complicated problem, and water trucks are only a first (urgently needed) step. 

Since planning started last Fall, we’ve spent a lot of time visiting local Navajo residents and hearing their stories. We’ve met people like Mrs. Johnston, a tribal elder who has spent most of her life walking 3-5 miles to collect water from a local pond. She and her family now receive about 400 gallons of water a month by truck. Without a local fill station, however, it’s not enough water to meet the basic needs of her 13-member household!

DIGDEEP is helping our partners in Smith Lake by constructing a new well in a centralized location, and improving home water delivery and storage.  Factors such as uranium contamination and water depth (over 2000 ft!) have made the planning period a long one. But this Spring, we’re moving out of the planning stage and into construction!

If you’re interested in defending the right to clean water in the US – we could use your help fundraising! Donate or create your own fundraising campaign here!

This is part of a series for World Water Day celebrating our international water access projects. Help DIGDEEP defend your right to water this March 22nd by visiting digdeepwater.org 

Women make the world go ‘round… especially when it comes to confronting water injustice.

A disproportionate number of women bear the burden of water collection. It often negatively impacts their health, safety, education and livelihood.

But when a community defends its human right to water, women make all the difference. They’re the strongest voices on a community water council, they reinvest personal earnings in their communities, and they make sacrifices for the health and happiness fo their families most of us can’t even imagine. 

So today we celebrate women everywhere. Women like Maude Barlow. Women like Elenor Roosevelt. Women like Nombiko.

The right to water is a women’s rights issue. Happy International Women’s Day. 

DIGDEEP

Before he graduated with honors from Columbia in mathematics, he used to run around his yard in a homemade skunk costume. 

We’re so grateful to our intern Lenny for all of his help in web development. We can’t wait to show you what he built!

Much love from everyone at DIGDEEP HQ in Los Angeles.

Deep breath. Sometimes all you need is a glass of water. 

Photo credit: Joni Abdalla

Without easy access to water on parts of the reservation, Navajo life has some unique, water-related quirks. Public schools used to have “shower days” for students from remote homes; some small hotels in Gallup, NM still offer “shower only” service, and coin-operated laundromats remain a popular gathering place all day long.

Learn more about DIGDEEP’s work to protect the human rights of Navajo living in the United States… because every person, everywhere deserves access to clean water.

Ever wonder what happens when you donate to DIGDEEP?

1. After we process your donation, we work with our partners to find the right community in our field sites (now: Sudan, South Sudan, Cameroon and New Mexico).

2. We select a project with a unique human rights challenge. Sometimes it’s a school or community without access to clean water. It might also be a prison, an orphanage or some other marginalized group.

3. We meet the community, as our partners plan project execution. DIGDEEP works through communities, not for them, and we require active participation every step of the way. 

4. Once a water project is complete, the work has only begun. We lead community-wide sanitation and hygiene education, establish long-term sustainability mechanisms like water councils, introduce human rights concepts, and assess any special needs.

5. DIGDEEP sends a field team twice a year from our LA headquarters to review projects. Our partners commit to monitoring installed projects for up to 5 years. 

6. We deliver a report to you - our donors - detailing the impact of your gift. Reports include data, pictures, personal stories, maps and a list of the donations that funded that specific project. 

You can view a sample report here. 

DIGDEEP takes a human-centered, rights-based approach to water poverty. Want to join us? You can learn more and donate online.

DIGDEEP

Photo of the day:

7,000 people collect water from this source. Dirty water carries rampant disease often resulting in preventable deaths. Give the gift of water. #homefortheholidays 

Visit www.digdeepwater.org to shop the DIGDEEP / Water Collective gift catalogue. Make an impact this season & change someone’s life - give the gift of water.

Photo of the day: 

Lokando has one small stream that locals use for drinking, bathing, and cooking – often a breading ground for harmful bacteria. Give the gift of water. #homefortheholidays 

Celebrate your toilet. Over 2.5 billion people can’t get to one! #WTD2012