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Views From
the Field On the front lines with returned Peace Corps volunteers WorldView magazine, the publication of news and comment about the Peace Corps world, devoted its winter 2005 issue to examining access to water for the world's poor -- the perennial issues, the innovative ideas and solutions being pursued, and the organizations working to help. Here are a perspectives on the issue.
Fetching Water:
Kgaugelo Morale, 39, is one in 200 million, most of them women
by James Workman Workman, an international consultant on water based in Botswana, spent some time with one of the millions of African women who spend their days finding water for their own and their families' survival. "On a personal level her tutorial offers a window into human nature, self-reliance, geography, sexual roles and political institutions, reveling the distance between global information and local wisdom," Workman writes. The Pump That Failed: Returning to a Village in Mali where Water is Always an Issue
by Tappan Heher Heher, who served with the Peace Corps in Niono, Mali, goes back again to see that the dam and canal system that in some ways caused the village more problems than it solved, has broken down. The area's high water table, combined with its water collector -- the gully running through part of the residential area of the town -- is teeming with mosquitoes, garbage, sewage, and dead animals, leaves it with no safe supply of water beyond pumps that people must pay a fee to use. Drought's Poster Child:
A sampling of indigenous solutions supported by Oxfam
This round-up of Oxfam-supported efforts takes a look at several models for dealing with the drought that's spurring food shortages and famine, including food for work, water trucks; land holding, rain harvests, areas in conflict, and intervention. Drilling Deeper: Local entrepreneurs drive a major West African water program
by David Arnold Arnold, the editor of WorldView who served in Ethiopia from 1964 to 1966, takes a closer look at what the 12 entities that have banded together to form the West African Water Initiative have done to address water and sanitation issues in Ghana, Mali, and Niger. The six-year project aims to bring small-scale water supply and sanitation resources to rural areas and newer settlements as a pathway to a more integrated approach to dealing with water issues.
Fog Harvest:
In a few high places, water is filtered from the air
by David Taylor Taylor, who served in Mauritania from 1983 to 1985, examines fog collection as an ingenious way to bring some water to communities high in the mountains that would otherwise suffered through the dry season. Water Table The editors of WorldView have compiled a collection of facts and statistics about water issues. |
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