This World Water Day, let’s deep dive into the global water crisis. There’s nothing more essential to life on Earth than water. Although, clean water is a human right, more than 2 billion people across the world have no access. On our planet, more than 1 of every 10 people are affected by the global water crisis. Every day, nearly 1,000 children under age 5 die from diarrhoea attributed to poor water and sanitation. World over, women and children spend an estimated 200 million hours of hauling water every day. The task to make clean water accessible is a core engineering challenge, but collective efforts can make the difference and pace up the process. Astral Foundation with the local tribal villagers, ‘Social Networking Forum’, and ‘Gadwat’ took up this challenge and installed 2.7 km water pipeline in the village of Hiwali, Maharashtra. This remote village with a tribal population runs dry in summer days and people have to fetch water from a distant well trekking through difficult terrain. Unknown to the outer world, this village has extremely talented students. Some of the students know tables till 600 or more, they can make electronic models by themselves and solving a Rubik’s cube problem is a matter of seconds for them. These special kids too, have to face the hardships to get water in their day-to-day life. Astral Foundation installed this water pipeline along with two water storage tanks to permanently make water accessible to the village.

Access to clean water changes everything; for Hiwali, it’s a stepping-stone to development. When the villagers gain access to clean water, they are better able to practice good hygiene and sanitation. Children enjoy good health and are more likely to attend school. This World Water Day, Astral Foundation pledges to make water accessible to many such villages and make difference in lives of those people who are deprived of water.