pain in the belly

When I snapped this photo, my focus was on these sisters' beautiful smiles. They skipped down the path arm in arm and would turn, giggle, and flash huge smiles at me. I wanted to capture their contagious joy. As I view the photo upon returning home, I notice the sister on the right and her swollen belly. I remember seeing it when we met, but her smile was so beautiful the belly was forgotten within seconds.

I met many children on my visit in the DRC. Many of them had bellies just like this little girl. I myself struggle with pain in my belly often - a result from my travels and foreign parasites wanting to make home inside of me. It hurts. But I treat it, rest, and thankfully the pain goes away.

The most common reason for little bellies swollen such as this sister's is from parasites. Worms. Water-borne diseases that could be prevented completely if she had clean water to drink. That's it. It is that simple. No pain in the belly in exchange for a clean glass of water. My belly hurts just thinking of it. The really depressing side of this story is that I saw not only big bellies on little people, but on adults as well. Without medication, clean water and proper nutrition, this little girl with the most beautiful smile will forever have pain in her belly. And she's not the only one.

*Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease. (UN Human Dev Report)
*Children in poor environments often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies at any time. (UN Water)
*Diarrhea remains in the second leading cause of death among children under five globally. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is due to diarrhea. It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. (UNICEF)

Check out more staggering facts at: http://water.org/learn-about-the-water-crisis/facts