Worldwide Sanitation Drive Launched in New York To Bring Basic Sanitation to 2.6 Billion People!

Water for Humans is taking action to help alleviate the life-endangering effects of major water shortages in Oaxaca City, Mexico. We are responding to the desperate pleas for help from families in the besieged Victor Bravo Ahuja district of Oaxaca City, Mexico. They are asking Water for Humans and you--our generous supporters, to help them gain access to clean, safe drinking water.

Unfortunately, our friends in Oaxaca City have too much company. More than 2.5 billion people on this planet--half of the population in developing regions in the world, do not have access to basic sanitation. Despite being included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) more than a decade ago, "Ensuring Environmental Sustainability" has a long way to go. This 7th MDG is nowhere near being achieved, despite the targeted year of 2015 being only 3 1/2 years away! In fact, sanitation is among the Millennium Development Goal targets lagging farthest behind.

The eight Millennium Development Goals – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions.

As scores of people continue to suffer the inhumane effects of blackwater and other extreme unsanitary conditions, Water for Humans is asking you to help save lives! We invite you to learn more about how your talents and time can help further the cause of Water for Humans to provide low-cost, clean water solutions to under-served populations while ensuring that water remains a local, public resource. You can contact Rick McKenney, co-founder of Water for Humans, at rickm@waterforhumans.org to find out how to get involved. Thank you!

UN Secretary-General launches the “Sustainable Sanitation: Five-Year Drive to 2015”

United Nations, 21 June 2011—UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, along with UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, Ugandan Minister of Water & Environment the Hon. Maria Mutagamba, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange, today launched the “Sustainable Sanitation: Five-Year Drive to 2015” (http://www.sanitationdrive2015.org), a push to speed up progress on the Millennium Development Goal target of improving global sanitation by 2015.

The launch took place on June 21 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, with members of the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation and other dignitaries in attendance.

The Millennium Development Goals include a target of halving, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to basic sanitation. With 2.6 billion people – half of the population in developing regions – still without access to improved sanitation, the target is lagging far behind, and without urgent and concerted action globally it will be out of reach.

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Water for Oaxaca - Rain Catchment Campaign

Saludos (Hi) from all of us at Water for Humans!

Imagine only getting municipal water once a week for 2 hours!

Imagine not flushing the toilet for 2 days because there is no water!

Water for Humans (WFH) is taking action to help alleviate the life-endangering effects of major water shortages in Oaxaca City, Mexico. We are responding to the cries for help from numerous families in the besieged Victor Bravo Ahuja district of Oaxaca City. They are asking Water for Humans and you to help them gain access to clean, safe drinking water. Here is a first-hand portrait of the human toll severe water shortages are exacting from the perspective of one family in Victor Bravo Ahuja!

Meet Susana Eva Vazquez
Suzanna is a community activist in the Victor Bravo Ahuja district of Oaxaca City. She wrote to Water for Humans and the Institute for Nature and Society in Oaxaca asking for our help in solving her neighborhood's chronic water shortages.

This is what Susana told us: "Our neighborhood was a landfill and quarry before becoming a residential district. Originally, water service consisted of two spigots; over time, the delivery system was expanded. Now, due to population growth, it is extremely insufficient. Last year, during the dry season most residences received water only two times per week for few hours per day. The water ... is not potable."

With your support, here is how WFH wants to help Susana and her family...

Together with INSO, we are building 8,000 gallon rainwater catchment systems - a pilot project to be tested in eight homes in the neighborhood. The community members are committed to solving their water shortage problem by putting in almost $9,000, toward the total of $31,000!


Will You Answer Susana's Plea for Help?

You can help Susana and her family in this life-saving effort by helping Water for Humans today with a $25 donation via our site. Our financial goal is to collect $6,000 towards this cause. Your generous contribution will play a critical role in Water for Humans being able to implement this innovative, low-tech, sustainable solution. With your donation, Water for Humans will bring tangible and significant improvements to the lives of Susana and her family and so many others in Oaxaca City!

How to Help

First, you can help us spread the word via our site by inviting your Facebook friends and email contacts to join our funding efforts (by clicking the icons to the left of the "Donate" button on the crowdrise webpage). Your Confidentially is Guaranteed - Your personal information will not, under any circumstances, be shared with any third parties!

Thank you!
You are a person who cares about the world we live in and you have demonstrated that by supporting Water for Humans in its effort to help Susana and her family in Oaxaca City. Susana and her family thank you for your support! "Muchas gracias!"

See the Difference Your Donation Will Make For Susana and So Many Others In Oaxaca City!
Learn how your generous support will impact lives in Oaxaca and elsewhere by following the Water for Humans' Blog, our You Tube Channel and looking for updates on Facebook. We invite you to join the nearly 300 people who are "Followers" of Water for Humans on Facebook!

You can always donate directly at

Droughts threaten nation’s food supply in Mexico

BY VÍCTOR MAYÉN

On Sunday, Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) deputies said that the country’s food supplies may be at risk. Nearly 500,000 hectares of crops of basic grains may fail due to droughts. 

In view of this situation, Manuel Humberto Cota Jiménez, the Secretary of the Agriculture and Livestock Committee, asked President Felipe Calderón to declare as disaster areas the states that have been affected by lack of rain. He added that the federal government must also send resources immediately to respond to the emergency. 

According to Cota, the federal government’s attitude regarding this situation is regrettable.

“The federal government is not offering the necessary resources to assist the rural zones that have been damaged by this situation. The government must destine resources to the affected states, not only to the states that are holding elections,” Cota said. 

The National Meteorological Service (SMN) said that the states that have been most severely affected are: Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Jalisco and Guanajuato. 

The cold temperatures in northern Mexico earlier this year and the recent drought have devastated this region. If actions are not taken soon, Mexico’s food supplies may be endangered. 

Cota said that the drought will have a higher impact than this year’s freezing temperatures. Droughts are more serious because they can cause wildfires and death of livestock, which would cause a food crisis in Mexico.

Joint working agreement with UABJO Oaxaca

I am pleased to announce a new joint working agreement with Instituto de la Naturaleza y la Sociedad de Oaxaca (INSO) Water for Humans and Universidad Autonoma Benito Juarez de Oaxaca (UABJO).  Professor Erik  Martinez Torres of the Chemical Engineering Department will formally join our efforts to help educate the community and government on the need and technology for natural waste-water treatment.  Erik's laboratory will be more involved with our ongoing water analysis of both drinking water and black-water.

We look forward to working more closely with UABJO as our plans for the design and construction of a natural waste-water treatment plant in Villa De Etla, and Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla.

The GUELAGUTZA in Seattle Saturday June 18th 2-6 PM

Please join our friends from Oaxaca in a special cultural celebration on Saturday June 18th from 2-6pm.  The GUELAGUTZA  will be held at the Dr. blanche Lavizzo Park  2100 S Jackson St in Seattle.

The closes entrance is behind (south) of the Odessa Brown Children's clinic at 22nd & Yesler.

There will be a traditional dance pretensions with the Grupo Guelaguetza, the Grupo Cultural Oaxaqueno and special guests GRUPO AMISTAD directly from Oaxaca

For more information please call 206.723.1986

Seattle University Students in Free Enterprise join our efforts

I am pleased to announce that the student group from Seattle University Students in Free Enterprise have joined our team.  This student team will help us in a wide range of activities, including social venture enterprise business plan development, expanding our impact in Oaxaca by helping build more Family Ecosystems.  Over the next few months we will work together to develop a joint strategy to both maximize their learning opportunities and increase our delivery of services in Oaxaca.

Over the coming weeks we will introduce these fine dedicated students and outline their area of focus.

Interactive "Future of Water" Web Event on June 7!

Sustainability thought leaders will gather for a virtual conference addressing global water challenges on Tuesday, June 7 beginning at 8 a.m. PDT. This milestone online conversation, entitled, "The Future of Water," is available to anyone -- at no cost. Leading up to the event, you--the visitor, will be able to view and share a trailer previewing the conference as well as see a full listing of conference speakers.

As a conference participant, you will have the opportunity to interact with featured speakers and other participants via digital and social media channels, adding your voice to this critical dialogue on the global water crisis.

Follow The Future We Create on Facebook and Twitter to participate.

We invite you to learn more about this worldwide challenge on the Water for Humans website. Over 1 billion people live without access to clean, safe drinking water and more than 2.5 billion people live in deplorable conditions because they do not have even basic sanitation facilities at their disposal.

Water for Humans’ mission is to provide low-cost, clean water solutions to under-served populations while ensuring that water remains a local, public resource. We are now helping to change lives in Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla in the Oaxaca Valley, just outside of Oaxaca City, Mexico. Water for Humans is leading the effort to design and build a constructed wetland for sewage treatment in Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla.

Join the conversation at this upcoming Virtual Conference and then learn how you can save and play a tangible role in transforming lives by being part of the Water for Humans cause to ensure everyone enjoys the dignity of having access to the planet's most precious resource--Clean and Safe Drinking Water.

Join Virtual Conference on the "Future of Water"
on June 7!

Join 60 leading thinkers as they explore the rich, complex, and critical topic of water's future. Beginning with a big-picture perspective, and uncovering both key "mega-trends" and personal stories from the front lines, "The Future of Water" will examine how different fields, sectors, and stakeholders can meet the challenge of supplying a growing global population with clean and sustainable water.

We encourage you to watch a Trailer for this Virtual Conference entitled, "The Future of Water" and then register for this important online event on the The Future We Create website.

Among the speakers taking part in this Virtual Conference are David Abraham, CEO at ClearWater Initiative, Ajay Badhwar, member of the Board at Pure Water for the World, John Borrazzo, Chief of Maternal and Child Health Division at the Bureau for Global Health at USAID, and Susan Davis, Chief Partnership Officer at Water For People.


DATE: Tuesday, June 7 , 2011 (Starting at 8 a.m. PDT, 11 a.m. EDT)

WEBSITE: FutureWeCreate.com