100 ABSTRACTS - NUMBER 81 & ABSTRACT THURSDAY

Each day, as I complete an abstract, I write in the number on a sheet provided by the Mamie Martin Pledge 100 Team and honestly can’t  believe that I've got to Number 81 - and you will all know by now that I am doing this to raise awareness of the Mamie Martin Fund, which helps girls in North Malawi to get a good secondary education.

Having looked at the theme for Abstract Thursday and seeing it was “Water” I thought I might try another “Two for One”, so when I got up early to bake some bread for Mr. HCB to take to cricket for his lunch, as I turned the tap on to fill our water filter jug, I took a quick shot of the water gushing out.  Of course, there was a little fartnarkling done in my iColorama app, but this still looks to me like running water. I then began to think of all the places in the world where they do not have access to running water at the turn of a tap. 

I found this out about Malawi:

"Malawi is a landlocked country in the Southern region of Africa. It is the smallest but most densely populated country in the region with a population of roughly 18 million.  

In Malawi, 80% of the population has access to an improved source of drinking water, but about 4 million people continue to lack access to safe drinking water. Based on international standards, only 6% of the population has access to a sanitation facility.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world with over 50% of the population living below the poverty line and 25% living in extreme poverty.

For most people in Malawi, primary education is the highest level of education they will achieve. As a result, primary education is an essential aspect of community life in Malawi, and is critical to the development of Malawi as a whole."

From the above statistics, you can see how much the people of Malawi need help - and the Mamie Martin Fund helps girls to progress from primary to secondary education after which many go on to university and then return to their own communities to help in many and varied ways.

The next time you turn your tap or flush the toilet, perhaps give a thought to those, not only in Malawi, but in many other parts of the world where they are deprived of decent sanitation and clean water.

“Saving our planet, 
     lifting people out of poverty, 
          advancing economic growth... 
               these are one and the same fight. 
We must connect the dots 
     between climate change, 
          water scarcity, 
               energy shortages, 
global health,
     food security 
          and women's empowerment. 
Solutions to one problem 
     must be solutions for all.”
Ban Ki-moon
Secretary General of the United Nations : 2007-2016

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MaureenIles