Photo credit: UNICEF/Africa

“I cannot express the joy I had on that day I saw water from the well,” says Anastasia, who lives in a village in Kenya. “My dream has come true.”

One of the most serious consequences of poverty is lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation.

In many developing areas, there simply is not enough clean water to go around. Women like Anastasia have to walk an average of four miles each day to collect water, carrying approximately 44 pounds on their heads, then must choose whether to use it to wash, cook or drink.

Did you know that:

• More than 1 billion people, or 1 in 6 worldwide, lack access to clean, safe water?
• Every day 6,000 children worldwide die from waterborne diseases like cholera, malaria and diarrhea?

Global Impact charities, including U.S. Fund for UNICEF, CARE, Christian Children’s Fund, Mercy Corps and Africare, construct and restore wells and boreholes, improve community irrigation systems and capture rain to make safe water available year round.

Ensuring adequate access to water supplies worldwide can have a dramatic effect on the lives and livelihoods of billions of people.

Your gift of $150 can help rehabilitate one village well, bringing clean, drinkable water to 500 African children and adults.

Global Impact is dedicated to helping the poorest people on Earth. Representing more than 50 of the most respected U.S.-based international charities in giving campaigns across the nation, Global Impact touches more than 400 million lives worldwide through disaster relief, education, health training and economic programs that promote self-sufficiency.

This guest-post is brought to you by Diana.

What I appreciate most about people is kindness. I really don’t care if anybody is rich, or is beautiful, or is very smart (well, maybe a little :D ), but I do care if someone is kind. People can show their kindness in many ways — by carrying other people, by carrying some animals, by trying to save the environment, by donating to a children’s home, etc.

On December 17th, Bloggers Unite challenges bloggers everywhere to do an act of kindness, something good offline and then write about it on their blogs, using words, pictures, and/or videos to tell the story. The goal is to expose their kindness and generosity as well as to serve as an example to non-bloggers that volunteering for a charity, donating to a cause, or simply doing something kind for another person has a ripple effect around the world.

Let’s do something for this world, let’s do something for those who aren’t as lucky as we are, let’s show everybody that we do care.

First of all, we can make someone happy on December 17 and second, maybe our acts of kindness will influence other people to do the same.

Over the years, my husband and I make some acts of kindness, like feeding some poor families, giving money to poor people, feeding and carrying some abandoned dogs, but I never write or talk about this, because it sounds pretty weird to me to talk about my own acts of kindness. Anyhow, if I think deeper, I’m convinced that a large number of bloggers talking about their acts of kindness can make a difference.

I know that all of you who read this blog are kind people. So why don’t you join the movement and do something good and blog about it? Please leave a comment and say what act of kindness you intend to do on December 17th :D

Let’s unite in acts of kindness!

Diana Bajenaru is an optimistic Romanian who loves good music, animals, fishing and reading to bits. She maintains a blog at My Lucky Number 13.

Poverty puts all individuals and families at risk, but most severely affects children, robbing them of future opportunities.

Image credit: Kashmir by babasteve.

Each of us has the power to help others by attacking poverty one issue at a time. Become a “poverty buster” by supporting Global Impact charities that meet immediate needs and also provide programs that encourage self-sufficiency.

You too, can become a “poverty buster” by making a pledge to support these 10 simple ways to end poverty now:

1. Build a well, so that more people have access to clean, drinkable water.
2. Build a school, so that all children can get the education they deserve.
3. Train a medical worker, so that the poor have access to medical care.
4. Feed a starving child and help end deaths from malnutrition.
5. Plant a seed, and teach a family to grow food to eat and to sell at market.
6. Give a displaced Iraqi hope with emergency food, tents and medical care.
7. Invest in success. A micro-loan of as little as $50 can start a small business.
8. Immunize a child and stop deaths from preventable diseases.
9. Help the blind see. Up to 75% of all blindness is treatable or preventable.
10. Empower a Darfur refugee with tools that rebuild lives—shelter, clean water and schools for children.

Show your commitment by starting today. Make your pledge to end poverty now.

Image credit: Balloons by Daveybot.

Global Impact is dedicated to helping the poorest people on Earth. Representing more than 50 of the most respected U.S.-based international charities in giving campaigns across the nation, Global Impact touches more than 400 million lives worldwide through disaster relief, education, health training and economic programs that promote self-sufficiency.