Water is the most critical resource on earth because it is biologically necessary and non-substitutable. We need water to hydrate and survive as none of us can live without water. Africa’s people experience water scarcity with its access a daily struggle for survival. Lack of water causes death and daily violence. Climate change is exacerbating cycles of drought and flood, which are having profound impacts on the lives and livelihoods of people living on the African continent. Water stress is inextricably linked to food insecurity, waterborne diseases, forced migration, conflicts, infant mortality, and violence and discrimination against girls and women.
70% of earth is covered with water, however, only 2.5% of the earth’s water is freshwater. That small amount of freshwater is used for a variety of needs: mostly for agriculture, then industry, and lastly municipal and domestic use. There are thus numerous competing demands over available water, a resource that is keenly contested and fought over (UNDP, 2006). Clean, safe water is vitally important as it can affect everyone’s ability to live a full and healthy life, engage in social progress, and have ecological sustainability. Globally, this access is an exception, not the norm. One billion people worldwide do not have safe drinking water within a 15-minute walk from their homes.
Water justice is becoming an ever-more pressing issue in times of increasing water-based inequalities and discrimination, particularly in the global south. Water justice is the right of all people to collectively control local water sources and the watersheds that sustain them. Beyond visible injustices, there are invisible injustices, subtly masked as ‘rational’, ‘equitable’ and ‘democratic’. Despite the recognition of the importance of water and society’s complete dependence on it, shortages of water are common around the world and a topmost concern in Africa. There is uneven distribution of water across in Africa, and an unequal access to the limited amounts of safe water that exist. Water distribution is mostly based on the income status of households and communities, a criteria which disenfranchises most people. Same income based considerations have led to communities losing their rights over surface and underground water resources to big corporations. Pollution and contamination of water bodies also in people losing out.
Water plays a central role in various aspects of our lives, it percolates across all boundaries and all aspects of life, as it is simultaneously social, economic, political, institutional, cultural, spiritual and ecological. Governing water responsibly is an increasing concern, with Africans Rising commitment to Water Justice in supporting and amplifying movements of people on the continent. We believe that when individuals, communities own the solutions, and have the means and the capacity to manage their water systems, then we can achieve water justice together.
Objectives of The Individual Giving Advocacy Campaign
- Contribute to ensuring equitable access to water globally and especially in Africa.
- To campaign for improved access to clean, safe water for communities in Africa
To work with communities to promote ecological and economic sustainability in water resources management To promote hygiene, people’s well and social progressTo facilitate creation of a network community water action committees
- Global citizens everywhere
- Sub category – Africa and beyond, especially to Global Africa and our Allies and Supporters
GivingTuesday is a global giving movement with local impact, a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. Africans Rising is launching a campaign to be run in collaboration with Giving Tuesday on November 29th 2022. This campaign will provide an opportunity to collectively work together and amplify the voice of communities to unite and take direct action towards water justice.
GivingTuesday Cause Coalitions
GivingTuesday is an inclusive community of millions of givers, with activity in every country on every continent. Celebrating and uplifting grassroots generosity, and generosity as a universally held value. With support from GivingTuesday, the RM Unit of Africans Rising intends to leverage on this opportunity to also inspire people to take collective action to improve their communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they believe in, while creating the “Africa we want”. GivingTuesday demonstrates how every act of generosity counts, and that they mean even more when we give together. For a successful campaign AR has to tap into its collective experience and expertise. We will use the resources provided by GivingTuesday to develop one.
#WaterSavesLives campaign
We have a unique opportunity for the people across the continent and across the world to show their commitment to safeguard lives, to give the opportunity to people to have dignity and for children to stay alive. #WaterSavesLives is the campaign name that we use on GivingTuesday. Coalition partners: We work in solidarity with the global water justice movements in South America, Europe, on the African continent, members, collectives, NGOs, and community groups that promote water justice.
Campaign dates: November 2022 through June 2023 – 2 campaigns per year. 3 webinars including 29th November – Giving Tuesday 2022
Sharing of information
Engagement & Collaboration Unit – signposting campaign with members during AR activities
Communications Unit – production of a social media toolkit (using sample template from Giving Tuesday) and publicizing on AR website and social media. Organizing zoom links for webinars and recording of all webinars. Promotion of campaigns in AR newsletters.
Long term
to run 2 community coalition campaigns for Individual Giving per year. Building campaign from year zero (2022) global awareness raising focus and coalition building. Year 2 (Q4 – 2023 – 2024) new campaign.