A WOW! e-Brief

Work of Women program @ World Neighbors

January 2007

Introduction

Overview on Women and Water

World Neighbors and Water

An Interview with Linda Jo Stern, MPH

Linda Jo Stern is associate vice president community and reproductive health for World Neighbors. WOW! recently interviewed her about the connections between water and health, and the ways that scarcity affects the daily lives of women around the globe.

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WOW:  What makes you passionate about water and development? Why are you committed to this issue?

Stern: I think the reason I am so dedicated to working on and learning about water issues is that it affects people’s lives at a core level—especially the lives of women and children. Water affects all aspects of their lives. Water affects their health directly in terms of personal and household hygiene; it affects their health directly in having water to grow fruits, vegetables and grains. It affects their livelihood in terms of having water for livestock that they can use to feed themselves and their families, or to sell to earn money. Water is a basic need and a basic right for every person on the planet. That’s why I am committed to it.

Along with personal hygiene comes a level of self esteem that you note when people can keep themselves clean and have access to privacy, water and sanitation. Those are parts of being human that those of us who live in the “developed world” take for granted. All of those things together—good nutrition, hygiene, cleanliness—are parts of social development.

Could you reflect for a moment on the relationship between water and development?

The first thing that pops into my head in terms of the relationship is women and their roles in access and use of water. All over the world—and I’ve visited our World Neighbors programs in Latin America, Asia and Africa in the last eight months—the situation, unfortunately, is exactly the same in every country: girls, young women and mature women are the ones responsible for searching for, gathering and bringing water back to the home. They are also the main users, providing food and drink for their family, cleaning the children and the home. All people, but women in particular, have a need for cleanliness and for sanitation.

The women are walking hours to get water and they tell me how far they have to go, how heavy it is to carry, how many hours it takes out of their daily life. It can be as far as four kilometers and as long as four hours.  The estimated daily caloric intake for women in these poor regions is approximately 900 to 1,400. So the women are using essential energy for gathering water. As they spend this time on gathering water, they aren’t engaged in a literacy class or making products to sell. Or even just having time to breathe, to be.

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The other fact that the women shared with me, especially in Africa, is that the water is very dirty. In the Andes and in Nepal, the water that the women are able to collect is cleaner. It is either coming from an aquifer in the mountains or a spring. But the women in Africa not only are walking long distances, the water they bring home is dirty. The women know it is dirty. But they don’t have the fuel to boil it or filters to purify it or the money to buy chlorine tablets. They just have to drink it.

There was a group of women in Mtinko [Tanzania] I met who had gotten together and dug out a 10-foot hole near their homes so they wouldn’t have to walk so far. They solved the travel problem, but the water is filthy. There is a lot of evidence showing that if women didn’t have to spend four hours a day looking for water, they would spend their time doing many other things to benefit themselves, their families and their communities, including connecting with each other. Women and girls are also very vulnerable to assault and rape when they go out at dawn or dusk to get water.

In Nepal where we are working, we have sparked the organizing of a number of women’s savings and credit groups. I visited seven or eight groups and every single one told me that their priority is to get clean water in their villages. They said we want to learn how to read, and we want to sell our goods. They don’t want to have to walk long distances to get dirty water.

I think in developed countries we take it for granted that we turn on a faucet and get clean water. Actually, I think everyone should take it for granted. It is a right, not a privilege.

In India I visited a non-formal education program for Dalit adolescent girls. They had books, paper and a desire to learn. But they had no water or toilet. They said they would provide the labor, but they needed help with materials. Although the program itself opens up the world to these girls, they told me that they don’t feel comfortable going to class because there is no toilet, especially during their time of menstruation. Again, it’s basic.

What have you seen on the ground that excites you in terms of local action or recent initiatives?

On my most recent trip, I visited a number of women’s groups in Nepal where they are advocating for water and sanitation with their village council, their local governments and nongovernmental organizations. That is an example of enormous social change—women who didn’t used to talk with each other, who used to be veiled, who are now in groups where they support each other and collectively advocate for change.

One misconception that development workers hold is that we need to educate and inform communities about the relationship between dirty water and health. That’s not my experience. The women in Nepal talk eloquently about that relationship. There are hundreds of articles about this issue written by experts and prominent development organizations. But these women get it; they live it. It really speaks to the approach of listening to people and working with them on issues they identify. The women in Nepal showed us where they want to dig the well. They shared the reasons why it’s important to build it. They explained to us what they could do once water was easily accessible. They were very thoughtful and concise. They just need some financial support and training to set it up.

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Prior to joining World Neighbors, Linda Jo Stern lived in Honduras for six years and directed PROMESA, an international community health organization. For the eight years prior, Stern was the executive director of a large U.S. inner city health center. She has also directed a $30 million federal nutrition program for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, managed the social service department for a large Boston teaching hospital, founded two cooperative businesses, and for 23 years served as adjunct faculty to the Boston University School of Public Health. She earned her B.S. from the University of Connecticut, and her MPH from Boston University.

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