UNICEF's Next Generation Loves the UNICEF Tap Project!
Casey Rotter is Founder of UNICEF’s Next Generation, a diverse group of young professionals who support UNICEF's programs.
Think about it: how many times have you left the faucet running when you stepped away from the sink?How long was your shower this morning? Was your last sip of water from a bottle or a tap?
UNICEF's Next Generation has embraced the UNICEF Tap Project for years because we understand that water is something so many people take for granted.Many of us are fortunate to not have to worry about water on a daily basis, yet clean water is a luxury for 768 million people worldwide.
“More people have access to cells phones than toilets. Think about that for a second."
It’s crazy that so many of our friends don't even know that 2.5 billion people don’t have access to a proper toilet. In fact, more people have access to cells phones than toilets worldwide. Think about that for a second. It’s unacceptable.
Why we love the Tap Project
Many of our Next Gen Steering Committee members have visited UNICEF water and sanitation (WASH) programs firsthand.
We’ve participated in WASH triggering programs in Vietnam where communities realize the consequences of open defecation. We visited a home where a family spends ¼ of their annual income to pay for a toilet and were so proud to show it to us.
We’ve lined up with children in Ethiopia and helped them fill their containers to the brim using a UNICEF-supported water pump. That pump literally saved women and children hours in their day and helped keep them safe, since they no longer have to walk miles to get their water from the closest river.
A family proudly shows their latrine to Next Gen Steering Committee Member Bettina Barrow in Ethiopia. Photo: Casey Rotter.
A WASH "triggering" session, or community-led sanitation demonstration, takes place at a community center in Vietnam. Photo: Casey Rotter.Put down your phone for kids in need!
If I told you that for every minute you go without touching your phone, UNICEF's Next Generation would make a donation to help provide clean water and access to sanitation to children around the world, how could you say no?
That’s why Next Gen agreed to be the first Time Sponsor for the UNICEF Tap Project this year. We committed $100,000 to UNICEF’s WASH programs to match the minutes you can go without touching your phone.
We may have gotten a little too excited about this project because after just a few days of outreach, with the help from the UNICEF volunteer community, the Tap Project mobile experience was used by more than 500,000 unique users. In fact, we had to get a few more sponsors on board. Not a bad problem to have.
So now get off your phone and see how long you can go!
Jerry cans used to fetch water, Ethiopia. Photo: John Kluge, Jr.
