By Tim Saunders on
Actress and singer Mandy Moore has had a busy week promoting World Water Day.
Tuesday, March 23, saw her join Alexandra Cousteau on Capitol Hill to take part in a Congressional briefing on water and its effects on global health. The pair then joined just one of the many World Water Day events that were held around the world – they joined the world’s longest toilet queue to draw attention to how the lack of water leads to the lack of sanitation.
Moore also contributed an article to the Huffington Post entitled “Sharing The Burden of Thirst on World Water Day.”
“Today, Tuesday, March 23rd, I’m in D.C. representing the global health organization PSI for a series of activities in observance of World Water Day,” she wrote. "I am briefing members of Congress on my experience in Southern Sudan, joining what will hopefully be the world’s longest toilet queue to bring awareness to the need for improved hygiene and sanitation in developing countries around the world, and I will pass out copies of National Geographic magazine’s April issue, which is dedicated entirely to water, to lawmakers in hopes of educating them on these critical but solvable issues.
“To be in D.C. on such an important day is both exciting and humbling — the U.S. government provides generous levels of funding for water, sanitation and hygiene efforts in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities — the latest numbers hover around $315 million for 2010. As I write, U.S. Senators are discussing the Paul Simon Water for the World Act, which is a bill that would place water at the top of the U.S. government’s priority list and would help provide access to clean, safe drinking water for 100 million people. I feel grateful for the generosity of the American government and for taxpayers like you and me who make this work happen…
“We have cost-effective tools to provide clean, safe drinking water to everyone in need — I drank clean water that was purified with one such product while in Southern Sudan. But without cooperation from all sectors — public, private and civil — Antoinette and her friends will continue to carry their heavy jerry cans alone.
“Please join me this World Water Day and lend your voice to those in need. Visit www.waterday.org to learn more about the issues.”
Mandy’s full blog can be found here.
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