11 June 2019
Bathing rituals have emerged from long-standing beliefs in many parts of the world, and as a celebration of community, friendship and cultural exchange. However, while being one of the planet’s most abundant resources, clean and safe water is yet scarce. Moreover, accessibility to bathing facilities and clean water is denied to many. An alarming 2.3 billion people do not have basic sanitation facilities such as toilets. Poor sanitation and a lack of bathing facilities is linked to the transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio.
Approximately 842,000 people in low- and middle-income countries die as a result of inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene each year. This issue, faced by billions of people, needs to be addressed given that poor sanitation is believed to be the main cause in some 280,000 of these deaths.
World Bathing Day has created a charitable foundation, Bathe The World, which raises funds for water-related charitable causes. Emerging from the Global Thermal Think Tank hosted at Glen Ivy Hot Springs in 2017, World Bathing Day is an initiative that encourages the coming together of people to celebrate water, its rituals and cultural traditions, through the act of bathing, whilst drawing attention to the many people that do not have the opportunity to bathe. With this vision, board of directors – Dr. Marc Cohen, Ingo Schweder, Therese Kerr and Charles Davidson aim to raise awareness and support for this event. Organisations, individuals, and businesses all have the opportunity to get involved through various activities.
Here is what we at GOCO Hospitality did this World Bathing Day 2019.
- $1 from each admission was donated to the Bathe The World Foundation.
- On an hourly basis, Glen Ivy hosted ‘Fire & Ice’, an educational session throughout the hot and cold water experiences at the property.
- The following special events ran throughout the day:
- Aqua Fit Classes
- Sudsy Mud Cleansing Experience at Club Mud
- Sunset in the Lounge Pool
GOCO Spa Daios Cove started all treatments with a complimentary fresh juice shot and a talk with guests about World Bathing Day. This was followed by a host of activities planned throughout the day, including a morning walk by the beach, Aqua Aerobics, a stretching and yoga session and a self-scrub in the steam bath and use of therapeutic water circuits. Meanwhile GOCO Spa Ajman showcased its traditional bathing rituals by running a special promotion on the traditional Moroccan bath.
How can you get involved?
The eventual aim of World Bathing Day is for the UN to officially recognise 22nd June as World Bathing Day or International Day of Bathing. This is important so that this one day can become a global movement recognised by an official body to help and support the betterment of bathing and sanitation facilities for those who have a lack thereof. In order to achieve this, World Bathing Day has formed a petition to the UN for all to sign to increase the resolve to work toward a time when bathing is possible for all, to highlight the critical role of bathing for good health, to give people to access to bathing water and to help the billions of children and women that die due to water-related diseases.
A little help may go a long way in making this day a success. For those interested in signing the petition, please follow the link here.
Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sanitation
