5 minutes could provide clean drinking water

For many of us, relieving thirst is as simple as walking up to the nearest water fountain, or opening the tap to fill your water bottle. However, children in third-world countries struggle to find the luxury we take for granted.

To raise awareness for this problem, the University of Toledo’s UNICEF student organization will host the second annual Water Gala on April 7 from 5-7 p.m. in Student Union Room 3020.

“The gala is an event that we host where UT UNICEF members and any University of Toledo student can come to and participate,” Kara Morris, a second-year majoring in global studies and secretary of UT UNICEF, wrote in an email interview. “Each person that comes connects their phone to the UNICEF Tap Project website and every minute that they are not on their phones, donations are made where clean drinking water is given to those in other countries.”

The UNICEF Tap Project provides clean water to children around the world. People can contribute to the project by logging on to the website and putting their phone down. For every five minutes that the phone remains idle, sponsors pay to provide one day of clean water to underprivileged children in third-world countries.

“I’ve always enjoyed volunteering and it’s really cool that what we are doing is helping out across the world,” said Katharyn Dekemper, a second-year pre-pharmacy major and treasurer of UT UNICEF. “I like volunteering with UNICEF because you’re not only helping out locally, but around the world with people that really need it.”

According to the UNICEF Tap Project website, UNICEF works in more than 100 countries around the world and some of the projects UNICEF has accomplished include urgent care in the Philippines that has provided water kits, water treatment products, portable toilets and hygiene kits.

The Tap Project also provides sanitation facilities to countries and promotes safe hygiene practices in schools and communities.

According to UT UNICEF President Dillon Marx, a second-year majoring in biology, many people are not aware of just how difficult it is for people in third-world countries to access clean water.

“We take water for granted so much here,” he said. “We walk to the refrigerator and we walk to the faucet and it’s right there… More often than not, these children in these impoverished countries might have to travel several hours to the nearest water source and even then, it’s not even clean, it’s dirty, filthy.”

Along with raising money for the Tap Project at the gala, people will enjoy music, games, videos from UNICEF and food provided by Jimmy Johns while their phones are set to the side to accrue clean water.

No ticket is needed for entry and it is free to the public. If you have questions pertaining to this event, contact [email protected]