Wend for water

by Kathy Kelley

There are 159 million people worldwide who still depend on surface water for their daily needs. That means multiple trips to and from a local river, stream or lake to fill large cans or buckets with water. Not only is this exhausting and time-consuming, but the water itself is usually of questionable quality, many times lying downstream from latrines.

The gathering of water often falls to children, and young girls in particular. A 2016 study confirmed that across 24 African countries more girls were tasked with water collection than boys. Those who live furthest from their water source and make multiple trips per day may only attend school sporadically, if at all.

Children are also at increased risk for water-borne illnesses, and this impacts their education as well. In Uganda, for example, 25% of children will drop out of school due to continued water-borne illness.

Other than illness, children have been attacked by crocodiles, hippopotamuses and other wild animals, and girls have been victims of sexual attacks. Rape statistics are difficult to gather as most likely go unreported—or are informally settled within the community.

According to ROCKBlue’s former local representative Gilbert Mafico, the situation is improving in Zimbabwe as efforts by government, utility providers and nongovernmental organizations are working hand in hand in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects.

The young girl pictured on our cover resides in Dangamvura, a peri-urban settlement in Zimbabwe. So-called because it’s located at the edge of an urban area. The area is home to many informal settlements, often with inadequate WASH services. Until the last two or three years, these informal settlements had no clean, convenient water source, but recent WASH projects have focused on these areas, drilling boreholes and creating community taps.

Still, rural areas in Zimbabwe are lacking, and children still bear the brunt of having to walk two to three kilometers, daily, for low quality water. However, in many of these areas, families are tackling the problem by sharing a donkey-driven cart to fetch water in bulk.

While progress is ongoing, access to clean water in Africa lags behind the rest of the world: eight of the top 10 countries with limited fresh water are located in Africa, with Ethiopia at the top of the list.

There is still work to be done on the continent to ensure that girls and women remain healthy, safe, and in school. And ROCKBlue is helping every day.