Today, more than 1 billion people lack access to clean, safe drinking water. There is enough freshwater in the world to meet everyone’s needs, but available drinking water isn’t evenly distributed to the people who need it most. It is under these circumstances that we join together on March 22 to observe World Water Day.

Starting a movement is one of the best ways to create positive change. Some of the largest social changes in recent history have occurred because thousands of young people joined together and stood up for something they believed in, such as during the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. A movement happens when more and more people know about the issues, start to care about the consequences and take action to make a difference.

Together, we can create a movement to raise awareness about the lack of clean water and sanitation in remote communities, and come up with ways to provide people with this basic human right. You can hold a “water walk” where students carry water and walk a set distance to simulate the experience of young girls who walk hours each day to collect water. Or start a clean water project in your community or school to help raise funds to build clean water systems around the world!

Whatever you do, make sure you don’t let the month of March pass you by without thinking about the importance of water!

Riding the wave of change,
The Youth Team