Walking for Water

Imagine living on top of a mountain, isolated from everyone else and with no source of water. Your family is struggling to grow crops to subsist on, and your cows are so skinny you can see every one of their ribs. As a woman, it is your job to rise every morning, climb down the mountain, and collect water. This task takes hours, and the sun, which was only rising as you set out, is beating down upon your back on the climb back up. You hold the water above your head and begin your ascent straight up the mountain. There is no path to speak of, and you climb over the face of rocks, somehow not spilling a drop of water.

The water you are collecting is vital to your family’s survival. You must drink it, use it for cooking and washing clothes, and share some of it with your livestock. There are no days off from this type of work. It is just a fact of life: your family needs water to survive, so you will make the journey, day after day…

The scene I am describing above can be found worldwide among the women and girls who together spend 266 million hours each day collecting water. They can spend up to six hours a day walking to a water source. A lot of times this water source is not clean, and they are at risk for disease.

I met two women and a little girl walking up the side of the mountain at the Grand Savane, an isolated settlement on top of mountain outside of Cange. These women and the little girl make the trek down the mountain to one of the Cange water fountains every day. They have to trek back up the mountain with the weight of the water on their heads. I admired the tenacity of the women, who were older, probably in their fifties or sixties. The little girl was probably eight years old and carried her water with just as much strength as the women. It struck me that here were what would be considered by some to be the most vulnerable members of society: older women and a young girl. They were proving to be the strongest, doing the task that is vital to sustaining life.

I write about this today to emphasize the importance of water, and draw attention to an act done daily by women and girls all over the world. This Saturday, Clemson University will be holding the Third Annual Walk for Water to simulate this walk and raise money for Water Mission, which provides clean water worldwide. I have participated in the First and Second Annual walks, and I encourage anyone in Clemson to attend the event this weekend. If you would like to donate or sign up, more information can be found here: http://events.watermissions.org/site/TR?fr_id=1831&pg=entry

I am so grateful to be interning for an organization which is providing clean water to the people of Cange. Last month, Ashley and I hosted a contingent from USAID who wanted to come tour the Cange water system. They were very impressed with the water system and were using their trip as an opportunity to scout out information for the US Ambassador to Haiti. It amazes me that our work is on the radar at that level. The system's impact is quite impressive, delivering 144,000 gallons of chlorinated water to 10,000 people every day. However, there is still work to be done, and we are continuing to create small water systems for isolated villages. The Grand Savane, where I met those incredible women and the little girl, is our next location for a water system.