Youth Talk

This last week in my Economics class, we’ve been studying developmental economics, specifically looking at globalisation and its effects on living standards.

We all, of course, are aware that nothing good in life can come without repercussions. Indeed, when flicking through news channels we see reports of child labour and exploitation in technology factories.

I would hope we all, at least, feel sympathy for the plight of those less fortunate. The sad reality is that while we do ‘feel bad for all those poor workers’, we often dismiss such stories as another facet of the human experience.

After all, why take action when we benefit? Unfortunately most of us see no point in taking a stance, given the futility of a mere person versus large corporations. Sadly, I too could be accused of this passive approach.

However, all it took was one documentary, used for research purposes, to stir me into action. It opened with the narrator omitting this one statistic: one-in-four people have no access to clean water.

Now we’ve all heard morbid statistics like that, however, when you actually consider it, that’s 25 per cent of a global population of seven billion.

I can’t even begin to imagine the daily struggles people must go to merely get the equivalent of one glass of water. It’s water, after all! We need it to survive so why are so many people struggling to receive what should be a basic human right.

With our water coolers and their instant delivery of fresh water, we don’t realise just how privileged we really are. I would never want to lead a life where even water supply becomes a daily struggle. And neither would you.

So, if you are able and willing to do so, please do consider helping that 25 per cent. Whether it’s through donating to charities like The Water Project, or joining relief missions with aid agencies, let’s try and make 2017 the year where we reduce that awful statistic significantly.