A thirst for knowledge

An important issue with poverty is health in relation to access to clean water and sanitation. Adequate sanitation is defined as someone who has access to a latrine (aka a toilet or contained area for human waste). This is something that 2.4 billion people lack.

When someone doesn't have clean water they will get sick. At this time they'll need medicine. However, they won't always have money for medicine as it may take away from money spent on food, education, or rent. Also, the sick person is working less and their family now has less income, And some families have up to six children. With less money they become more impoverished. It's quite the cycle.

With a complex problem like this there are many steps that need to be taken.

There are some organisations like WaterAid who focus on education and implementation. It's important that these projects involve all community members because a project is more likely to succeed if people are involved in all processes and know the risks and benefits of sanitation, not just of clean water.

One particular project at WaterAid is "community-led total sanitation." Their site describes the key to success as "convincing communities to take action themselves. Neighbouring communities then see the difference sanitation makes to village life and so the learning spreads. It can be provocative, and it's certainly not subtle, but it works." (Bold is mine.)

This technique is similar to participatory methods developed by Robert Chambers, such as participatory rural appraisal.

"Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) is a label given to a growing family of participatory approaches and methods that emphasize local knowledge and enable local people to make their own appraisal, analysis, and plans. PRA uses group animation and exercises to facilitate information sharing, analysis, and action among stakeholders. Although originally developed for use in rural areas, PRA has been employed successfully in a variety of settings. The purpose of PRA is to enable development practitioners, government officials, and local people to work together to plan contextappropriate programs."

To see a slideshow of WaterAid's project click here.

If you want a good read (and some great pictures) about a WaterAid project read Trevor Freeman's blog. Trevor is a U of Windsor grad working in Zambia as a volunteer with Engineers Without Borders.

Action Items (what you can do)
- watch your water consumption, don't be wasteful
- fix leaky taps
- turn off the water when you brush your teeth or shave
- get involved volunteering for an organisation that works with Water and Sanitation projects
- tell your friends what you learned and spread the knowledge


"Man - despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments - owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains."
- Unknown author