How can the message effectively be spread? Today there are many attempts at spreading the news about the rising global water crisis, but people taking water for granted rarely pay attention. Social media is often thought of as a great medium for spreading messages, but without any apparent kickback value for the user, your message will not gain any snowball effect. We continue to spread the word about clean water treatment solutions, but it seems no one is willing to listen, why should they if it does not affect them? Before Christmas we even hosted a competition asking people to participate in a quiz, and the winner would be able to make a donation on behalf of the company to the third world. In the end, a water catastrophe pack was donated to India. Only about 3-5% of our "following" participated even considering that their actions could benefit people who needed the help.
Fortunately, there are some passionate people out there with a bigger voice. Today, people with far reach, due to their popularity often promote or spread the word about a good cause. Recently, Matt Damon (who starred in "Good Will Hunting") gave a compelling interview about the water crisis.
See the full interview:
He even describes a water well in Ethiopia where kids are pulling water out that is the same color as chocolate milk. This water is what kids bring to school, and often it can be so dangerous to drink that deaths result from it. According to Water.org, a child dies every 20 seconds from water related diseases - an extremely scary figure.
The video then discusses what has been called WaterCredits which is basically a small loan that lets people without clean water, get a direct source of water into their home instead of having to walk to a well. The loan is often repaid at a high rate, and seems to be the way forward in some of these communities.
It is good to see some of these famous people using their star status to spread goodwill messages rather than just promoting the latest perfume or handbag.
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