World Toilet Day 2009

Believe it or not, lack of sanitation is the world’s biggest cause of infection. Today, one in four people don’t have a toilet. This means people must relieve themselves in open streets, fields, or dangerous back alleys. In India alone, the number of people who practice defecation is double the population of the U.S. Because of situations like this, at least 1.8 million people die from fecally-transmitted diseases every year.

To bring awareness to these issues, we're observing November 19th as World Toilet Day. Established by the World Toilet Organization and celebrated annually, it seeks to increase awareness of the importance of toilet sanitation and each individual's right to a safe and hygienic sanitary environment.

Why Toilets Matter

From United Nations Human Development Report:
“When it comes to water and sanitation, countries tend to have short memories. Today, people in the cities of Europe and the United States live free from fear of waterborne infectious diseases. At the turn of the 20th century the picture was very different. The vast expansion of wealth that followed industrialization increased incomes, but improvements in more fundamental indicators such a life expectancy, child survival and public health lagged far behind. The reason: cities exposed people to greater opportunities to amass wealth but also to water contaminated with human waste. The mundane reality of unclean water severed the link between economic growth and human development. It was not until a revolution in water and sanitation restored that link that wealth generation and human welfare started to move in tandem.”

What Can You Do?

DONATE: The solutions are simple and cost-effective. On average, every US dollar invested in water and sanitation provides an economic return of eight US dollars. For only $30, Water.org can bring someone access to a toilet for the rest of their life.

TWEET: Other (free and easy!) solutions include visiting Water.org's World Toilet Day page and signing up to donate the status, avatar, or background on your Twitter or Facebook pages.

SQUAT: Another thing you can do is take part in The Big Squat: To help raise awareness for the 2.5 billion people who don't have access to sanitation, thousands of people worldwide are going to squat for one minute. Visit worldtoiletday.com/squat/ for more information.

BUY A SHIRT: One Tribe is proud to profile socially and environmentally responsible organizations and events. Additionally, sales of our custom-designed organic t-shirts help create a lasting revenue stream for Water.org.

With our 50/50 promise, HALF the price of a shirt goes directly to

Water.org. That money is enough to provide one person access to clean water for life.

Get yours today – and don’t forget, these make excellent gifts this holiday season. Learn more here: OneTribe.com

Solve World Hunger This Holiday Season

Instead of asking for a new iPod this year, why not put a dairy goat on your wish list? For the cost of an iPod, you could supply a starving family in Zambia with several quarts of milk every day.

Heifer International is a non-profit organization that works with communities in an effort to end poverty and hunger worldwide. They help disadvantaged families become self-sufficient by supplying them with a vital food source, such as a cow or goat, instead of providing them short-term relief.

Giving a goat to an underprivileged family is also a way to continually support those in need. Each family who receives an animal will donate its offspring to another needy family.

To find out how you can help a family in need and continue the circle of giving visit Heifer.org

One Tribe Creative is proud to profile socially and environmentally responsible organizations. To learn more, visit us at www.OneTribeCreative.com

Four Big Weeks at Water.org

Since the launch in July of Water.org, they have made great progress on many fronts, but the past four weeks have been phenomenal.

The main highlights:

1. Clinton Global Initiative: Water.org co-founder, Matt Damon and Gary White joined Bill Clinton on stage for the Opening Plenary of CGI in late September. Gary was able to provide a progress report on the current $9 million in CGI commitments they are implementing. Matt was able to share the great news that Water.org is launching work in Haiti with a $2 million commitment to bring safe water and sanitation to 50,000 people. Learn more about how Water.org is working with CGI and view the opening plenary: Clinton Global Initiative

2. Forbes Global CEO Conference: Immediately following CGI, Gary traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he participated in the Forbes Global CEO Conference, a gathering of more than 200 CEOs from leading companies. Gary was part of a panel on philanthropy that allowed him to draw attention to the global water crisis and solutions like our WaterCredit Initiative. Several CEOs are now interested in supporting the work of Water.org.

3. Esquire magazine: The October issue of Esquire magazine featured Matt on the cover. The story followed the July trip Matt and Gary took to India to visit project sites and assess progress of our WaterCredit program there. The article reached more than 713,000 readers. You can read the entire Esquire article here: Esquire

4. Parade magazineThe October 11 issue of Parade magazine (inserted in Sunday newspapers across the country) featured Matt on the cover and included a story that he authored. He used this story that reached more than 70 million readers to highlight the work of Water.org. You can can read the Parade story here: Parade

5. Legacy Venture Panel: On October 20, Gary traveled to Palo Alto, CA where he had the opportunity to participate in an expert panel discussing "Safe Water's Impact on World Welfare" hosted by Legacy Venture and Open Square Foundation. Legacy Venture is a nontraditional venture capital fund with more than $800 million in investments. Individual investors in those funds agree to direct all their profits to charitable organizations like Water.org. A special introduction was made by Wynnette LaBrosse, President of Open Square Foundation, a strategic partner of Water.org

6. ONEXONE Difference Award: And to top it all off, on the night of October 22 at the ONEXONE San Francisco Fundraiser, Gary was honored with the ONEXONE Difference Award. You can see the video shown that night: Video

The past four weeks have been unlike anything in the nearly two-decade history of this fine organization. All of these opportunities are a catalyst in helping Water.org reach millions of people with safe water and sanitation. Matt's commitment to speak out about the global water crisis combined with the success and innovation of Water.org are proving to be a great combination that will serve as a rallying point for people who share Water.org's vision of the day when everyone in the world can take a safe drink of water.

One Tribe Creative is proud to profile socially and environmentally responsible organizations. And with sales of our shirts at OneTribe.com, we directly fund Water.org and four other global charities.