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

Learn More

Get Involved

An important action WOW! members can take in their local communities is to reach out to friends and neighbors and raise awareness about issues surrounding water and the need to act now.

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World Water Day

Since 1993, World Day for Water (http://www.unesco.org/water/water_celebrations/index.shtml) has been observed on March 22. The United Nations recommends activities that help raise public awareness on conservation and development of water resources. The 2007 theme is “Coping with Water Scarcity.” Consider focusing your WOW! House Party on water issues for women. Volunteer to speak about the issue at a community meeting, social justice committee or other group. Ensure that your local school or church is planning an event.

Solidarity Over Sympathy

Paul Hawken, an advisor to Blue Planet Run Foundation, writes “The global water crisis boils down to three things: The people who need it most have the least access to it; The people who have the most access to it waste it; And everyone, knowingly or not, is polluting what little fresh water exists” (http://www.blueplanetrun.org/docs/PaulHawken.pdf). Help people make the links between what often seem like distant crises and the impact of their local actions. Commit to conserving water in your household, and educating interested others about easy to implement measures. Investigate industry or agricultural uses of water in your state and determine if they are socially and environmentally responsible. What actions can you take, and how can you share your learning?

Involve Children and Youth

Voices of Youth (UNICEF) has developed an online game on water called Water Alert! (http://www.unicef.org/voy/wes/). Designed for children (but with information appropriate for many adults), the game introduces a number of basic issues related to water availability and quality, and sanitation. The game highlights some of the challenges villagers face, including such issues as external players who install water pumps but do not involve community members or provide them the skills needed to maintain the pumps. Interaction is limited, but the information is valuable, and is more engaging for many than report reading would be. Available free in a choice of three languages: English, Spanish or French. 

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British-based Oxfam’s online learning resource, Water for All, is also available free online (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/water/gettingstarted.htm). Created for children aged 9 to 13, issues related to water and development are taught using activities, case studies, quizzes and other tools. Age-appropriate activities and actions give children and youth ideas for realizing their potential impact.

Watch a Video and Hold a Community Screening

Invite your friends for a movie night, or organize a film screening at a local organization or center. “Walking for Water” is part of the Water Voices documentary series produced by the Water Awareness Program of the Asian Development Bank. It focuses on the state of Gujarat, India, where following a three-year drought, women in the rural areas were spending at least three hours a day to collect water from a water source that was fast disappearing. Now the women are managing village water systems and use their extra time to produce additional income through a handicraft cooperative. The video is 22 minutes, and available through the Asian Development Bank at http://www.adb.org/Water/actions/IND/Walking-for-Water.asp.

Support the Work of World Neighbors

A donation to World Neighbors (please note that it is through WOW!) supports work to improve the health and lives of poor, rural people throughout the world. We recognize that access to sufficient potable water is vital to sustainable development, including women’s empowerment and community leadership. One of our goals is to ensure the availability of potable water in every village with which World Neighbors partners. Your financial support is critical to the sustainability and expansion of this work.

Tell Us Your Ideas!

Share with us your creative ways to share the message and motivate others. We’ll publish good examples on this Web site.

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