I remember the night before leaving Nicaragua. We all sat out at a long table on the street. It was warm but a little damp. I really liked the weather. When it came time to say goodbye I wondered if logistics would allow some of us to us to see each other again. Just three months later and Gilberto has gone, we will not see him again in this world.
Sometimes people touch your life in unexpected ways that change you. He was one of those people in my life. A few hours here and a few hours there – but he left me with a real challenge. Today we see people protesting with a real anger in their hearts. Gilberto has fought for the forgotten, for the downtrodden over decades. But I didn’t see an anger, I saw what I can only describe as the fire of love. I want to learn how to let that be my motivation.
I wondered about taking a break tonight, just to give myself time to think things over. But then I thought, no, the answer to losing him is actually to step up our effort in supporting the changes we need to see in this world.
So tonight the SDG is Clean Water and Sanitation. “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”
I got an email from my water supplier this week asking me to avoid using a sprinkler which could result in 1000s of litres of water being used each hour. We call it a water scarcity, but actually it is far from it. I notice my supermarket is currently limiting bottled water (in fact I can buy more coke than I can bottled water if you believe it). Still, not a scarcity.
In one village we visited the water source had such high mineral levels that people were dying from kidney failure.
The targets for this goal are:
- By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
- By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations
- By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
- By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity
- By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate
- By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes
- By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies
- Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
We need to double the rate of change to meet our targets for this goal. One in three people don’t have access to safe drinking water. Over half a million people have no toilets available to them. Having said that we have almost doubled the number of people with access to clean water over the last 20 years – we just need to do the same again.
Coronavirus is another problem – COVID-19 will not be stopped without access to safe water for people living in vulnerability. One group looking in to this is UNICEF, who are focussing on children. You can donate money to their programme . And UN Habitat is focusing work on providing hand washing facilities in slums around the world.
While in Nicaragua we saw the work supported by CEPAD to provide water filters and to support the provision of basic toilets.
CEPAD is the organisation that Gilberto worked for, and continued to work for even after retirement. If you can make a donation today in memory of Gilberto, maybe you remember him from his visit to Liverpool, then make a donation here – and maybe just mark it as being in memory of Gilberto.