THE COMMITMENT
Water and sanitation programs are some of the best investments that our government can make.
The Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2013 will improve the well-being, education, economic opportunity, safety and dignity of 2.5 billion people in the world who live without a basic latrine every day.
The Water for the World Act already has 96 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and the bill is gaining momentum quickly. We have been working with partners like WaterAid America to help ensure that the Water for the World Act passes this year!
GLOBAL CITIZENS RESPOND
Since global citizens know that poor sanitation leads to thousands of child deaths every day, we created a petition calling on US leaders to support the Water for the World Act. Global citizens have taken over 35,000 actions by signing this petition to increase access to water and sanitation.
This summer, we worked with flea markets and shops across New York to provide opportunities for people to write letters to their Members of Congress to call on them to support the Water for the World Act. We collected hundreds of letters from global citizens who want to help ensure that every child has access to clean water!
IMPACT
On September 2 and 3, Judith Rowland from the Global Citizen team went to Capitol Hill to meet with the offices of 17 key Members of Congress to rally their support for the Water for the World Act. Judith handed over the letters that global citizens wrote to Senators from New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, California, and Mississippi. Each person that we met with indicated that they would speak directly with the Member of Congress to let them know that global citizens are supporting Water for the World Act.
Here are a few photos from our meetings!
WHAT'S NEXT?
The next few weeks are crunch time.
We’re working on a film that highlights some of the Members of Congress who have cosponsored the Water for the World Act. Last week, the Global Citizen team visited White Plains, NY to film Congresswoman Lowey explaining why she supports the Water for the World Act.
Here is our team with the Congresswoman!
Let’s continue keeping pressure on key leaders in Congress to pass the Water for the World Act. Could you join us and sign the petition in the Take Action box?
Stay tuned for exciting updates about our campaigning on water and sanitation!