World Water Day -

Not-so-fun fact: At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease.

What kind of diseases? Ones like cholera, from which people literally die of diarrhea. (Eeek!) I hate to sound like such a downer – especially on a Friday, but the fact is that diarrheal diseases are on the rise because more than one billion people do not have access to clean water.

You can help. Just by raising awareness.

World Water Day is this Sunday, March 22. You can participate in a number of ways:

– Come to Portland’s World Water Day event, which includes a Walk For Water, some great concerts, and a screening of the award-winning documentary, FLOW.

– Follow World Water Day on Twitter.

– Read up on water issues the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is tackling.

– Watch this video about how the American Red Cross worked with the Sri Lankan Red Cross to create a low-tech water sanitation system for tsunami survivors.