Give Water. Give Life. Clean drinking water is something most of us take for granted, but worldwide more than 10% of the world’s population lives without it. Sadly, every day 2,000 children’s lives are lost to water-related diseases. LISA MILLMAN As we exclaim TGIF each week, most of us look forward to lazy weekend mornings and well-earned time with family and friends. Adults and children alike enjoy a temporary reprieve from their hectic schedules to recharge the proverbial battery before the week ahead. Cut to the other side of the world, to Ethiopia’s rugged, mountainous region of Konso. On weekends, like every other day, most women have little time for relaxation. Day in and day out, their lives are dominated by the grueling search for water. They rise at dawn to walk to the riverbed, then dig a hole and wait for water to slowly seep into it. A scoop at a time, they fill their jerry cans and carry the heavy load home. This task takes several hours and cannot be skipped: we all need water to survive. Tewabech Kutambo is one such mother. Like most in Lahyte village, she has no break from collecting water. Even when she was expecting each of her three children, she had to endure giving birth alone on a roadside while out collecting water. She recounted: “We go before the sun rises and come back when it is high in the sky. I cannot stop going to the river even if I am pregnant.” Clean drinking water is something most of us take for granted, but worldwide more than 10% of the world’s population lives without it. Sadly, every day 2,000 children’s lives are lost to water-related diseases. Every day Tewabech weighs the risk that her family will get seriously ill from the water she has worked so hard to collect. The river is dirty and likely contaminated, but she says: “it is the only water we have, so I have to give it to the children.” WaterAid is a non-profit organization that helps villages like Tewabech’s to construct low-cost, sustainable water and sanitation Photos: WaterAid / Anna Kari 120 ORIGINMAGAZINE.COM
facilities. We also make sure that women like Tewabech are active participants. We support them to become handpump caretakers, treasurers, or hygiene educators. Thanks to WaterAid, the neighboring community of Aba Roba already has all the clean water it needs. As a result, women no longer have to walk miles and instead, they care for their babies with the knowledge that safe, clean water is nearby. Orke Otta, a mother of seven, told us: “Before, we had giardia [a water-related disease], and also we didn’t have time to stay with our children. Now we have time to stay with our children, prepare food, work in the fields, and get food for the animals. I really appreciate what WaterAid has done for us.” WaterAid has plans to bring water to Tewabech’s community this year. There are still millions more in need. On March 22nd, take a moment to remember that it is World Water Day. Think about the 783 million people without access to clean water and consider giving them the opportunity to take the first step out of poverty. Consider making a gift at www.wateraidamerica.org. Lisa Millman is the Director of Development & Communications of WaterAid, an international non-profit organization that enables the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.
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FACTS In rural Africa women spend 26% of their time collecting water.
Women often walk five miles each day to fetch water. In the dry season this can double.
Carrying heavy water containers causes backache and joint pains, and in extreme cases curved spines and pelvic deformities that cause complications in childbirth.
The weight of water that women in Africa and Asia carry on their heads is commonly up to 40 pounds, the same as a four yearold American child.
1 With your help WaterAid can give clean water to the world’s poorest families.
4 Women from Lahyte collecting water from scoopholes in the riverbed.
2 Tewabech’s baby deserves a good start in life. She deserves clean water.
5 Tewabech Kutambo with the daughter she gave birth to while collecting water.
3 Orke Otta collecting safe, clean water from the WaterAid water point in Ala Roba.
6 A pregnant mother and child from Lahyte walk to the river to fetch water.
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