The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee advances human rights through grassroots collaborations.
Soap Can Save Lives
March 16, 2016
As we approach World Water Day on March 22, we’re contemplating the vital roles that clean water and adequate sanitation play in the health of people throughout the world. UUSC works to advance the human right to water every day with partners throughout the world. Clean water, access to proper sanitation, and even something as seemingly simple as soap — these things save lives.
First, a few facts we learned from U.N. Water:
- “Today 2.5 billion people, including almost one billion children, live without even basic sanitation. Every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of poor sanitation. That’s 1.5 million preventable deaths each year.” (World Water Development Report 2012)
- “Globally, diarrhoea is the leading cause of illness and death, and 88 per cent of diarrhoeal deaths are due to a lack of access to sanitation facilities, together with inadequate availability of water for hygiene and unsafe drinking water.” (U.N. Joint Monitoring Programme)
- “Washing hands with soap can reduce the risk of diarrheal diseases by up to 47 per cent.” (World Health Organization)
These are just some of the reasons that we’re excited to feature Hand in Hand, a sustainable soap company, at the Good Buy. For each Hand in Hand product you buy, they donate one bar of soap and one month of clean water to a child in the Global South.
Bill and Courtney, the founders of Hand in Hand, explain: “The goal was to come up with a household product people use every day, that had the power to save lives.” Plus, they make sure that the creation of their soaps isn’t wrecking the environment or taking advantage of workers and producers along the way. And your Good Buy purchase helps fund UUSC’s human rights programs around the world!
When you take all of that into account, it seems frivolous to talk about how great the actual soap is — but we can’t help but mention the awesome varieties (our favorites: wildflower and fern and sea salt) and the soothing, organic goodness.
This World Water Day, we’re feeling grateful that businesses like Hand in Hand exist. Because changing those stats up above is going take the actions of people — and businesses — who care deeply about people having access to clean water, to soap, and to the tools everyone deserves to keep themselves healthy. Since a child dies every 20 seconds due to poor sanitation, take your next 20 seconds to help save lives by buying Hand in Hand soap.