The Great Water Challenge

Dec. 17, 2010 — -- It's hard to believe but almost a billion people on the planet don't have access to clean, safe drinking water. That's one in eight of us, and more than 50 percent of children in the developing world lack access to safe drinking water or sanitary bathrooms.

The good news is, there's something we can do.

An organization called H20 for life is connecting schools across America with schools in other countries that don't have clean bathrooms, sinks, or even running water. Incredibly, that's half of all the schools in the developing world.

"Every student has the right to have water, and sanitation at their school," said Valerie Johnson, a parent volunteer who started H20 for Life with retired teacher Patty Hall four years ago. "Kids should be carrying books instead of water. Water and sanitation is as important as math and reading to a child's education."

This story is part of ABC News' "Be the Change: Save a Life" initiative. Click here to watch the special.

For complete coverage and information on how you can personally make a difference, go to SaveOne.net.

While filming in Bangladesh for "Be the Change: Save a Life," I saw the problem firsthand.

Through H20 for Life and Save the Children, I met with students whose school just outside Dhaka had only two toilets for 500 students -- and those are just holes in the ground with no plumbing or running water. The kids hold their noses when they walk into the bathroom, and if they want to flush or wash their hands, they have to pump water outside by hand then carry it inside in a bucket.

A sister school in America, H.B. Woodlawn in Arlington, Va., wanted to raise money for the Bangladeshi school so students there could have running water and sinks to wash their hands.

At 5 p.m. in Dhaka -- 7 a.m. in Arlington -- we connected the two classrooms via Skype. The students realized that even though they were 8,000 miles apart, they shared the same interests -- like badminton and soccer.

They talked about their teachers, what they were studying, and what they like to eat.

And they talked about water.