"Every drop in the bucket has the potential to improve -- and indeed save -- lives."
-- Ann (damiandreamer)

Imagine if you couldn't get a drink of fresh, clean water in, or anywhere near, your own home. No safe, clean water to drink, to cook with, to wash with. ...

A frightening thought, isn't it?

Well, for the people of El Alto, Bolivia, it's not a mere thought ... it's reality.

In mid-November 2005, Damian Lewis, pictured below, visited El Alto, Bolivia, on behalf of the charitable organization Christian Aid, to meet with some of these people and witness these conditions first-hand.

Among these many people was a family who had manually dug an 8-metre well outside their home -- a well that yields only murky, unsanitary, unsafe water. The photo of Damian above is at this very well. The photo below shows a bucket of its filthy water, which Damian had just drawn from the well seconds before.

At the other side of the house is a similar hand-dug hole that serves as the family toilet. Not surprisingly, the young children in this family are frequently hospitalized with ailments that could be easily prevented if their home had two simple, basic necessities that many people in this world take for granted every day: clean, running water and a sewage system.

That family's story is just one of thousands like it. ...

Why is this happening? The short answer is that the privatization of basic services, although successful in some parts of the world, has grossly failed in El Alto. Companies which have stepped in to provide service have opted to exclude a significant portion of the city -- and a large percentage of its impoverished population -- from their designated service area. And companies who will offer services to the neglected areas are charging exorbitant prices which the community and its inhabitants simply and absolutely cannot afford.

Damian's visit to Bolivia was documented in a short film, "Bolivia For Sale." The film addresses not only Bolivia's water crisis, but also similar problems in Bolivia pertaining to gas and milk. Click here to watch "Bolivia For Sale" online in its entirety. (If that link fails, go to this page and click the link on that page to view the video.)

Click here to view a transcript of, and exclusive photos from, "Bolivia For Sale."

Click here to view additional exclusive photos of Damian (mostly from the film) during his visit.

Click here to view an article from Marie Claire magazine about Damian's visit to Bolivia.

Click here to view an article from Christian Aid News magazine about Damian's visit to Bolivia.

Click here to read an article about, and see photos of, the situation in El Alto by freelance writer-photographer Nick Buxton, who took part in Damian's visit.

Click here to view exclusive photos of Damian from his interview on the BBC2 programme The Daily Politics on December 7, 2005, when he presented a portion of the film and discussed Bolivia's situation with the programme's panel.

Click here to view a Christian Aid video with Damian talking about conditions in Bolivia and the importance of the September 14, 2006, march against world poverty in London. Click here to view photos from this Christian Aid video.

Click here to visit the Christian Aid Web site.

Thank you for visiting this page.

Sincerely,
Ann (damiandreamer)