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Water Makes a Fantastic Gift
I'm over a month late blogging this, but sadly, it's an evergreen. Over a billion people lack access to clean drinking water. Every day--including today, Christmas Eve--over 4000 children lacking good drinking water will die of diarrhea-causing diseases.
It's hard to wrap our heads around such astonishing statistics, or understand what causes this great gaping need, and how simple some of the solutions are. Last month MTV put up a set of videos in which Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter went on a tour of a home and a school in Africa to understand the basic issues. He was accompanied by his "homeboy," my uncle, Arunabha Ghosh, a Policy Specialist and one of the authors of the UNDP Human Development Report. Arunabha has spent the last few years tirelessly running around the world, raising the alarm about development needs and spreading the word about development solutions. Last week he addressed an Indian Parliamentary forum on national water issues. I haven't seen him in years, so it was a pleasure to listen to him guide Jay-Z through the essential issues of water development.
Bittersweet pleasure because these issues are so heartbreaking. Every day millions of girls go through the back-breaking work of ferrying water to quench their family's thirst. Children's school days are interrupted by the labor required to get a drink or go to the bathroom. These videos make it really, really clear what the problems are, and how hard people have to work to get around them. It's a little tricky, but click here and then click on the "Play All" button underneath "The Diary of Jay-Z in Africa: Water for Life." The videos will queue up and start playing in the player on the left hand side, and you can make them larger by clicking the "Enlarge Video" button on the bottom-right of the player. They should then each play in order, automatically, but in order they are: the intro, Eyes Wide Open, Ths Is The Real Hard-Knock Life, Together We Can Do This. There are also more resources and interactive tour-diaries over here. I have a couple of screen shots after the jump.
So, as you gather around with your families to enjoy crackling fires and Christmas dinner and shiny presents, consider gathering them around the computer to take just a few minutes to watch these short and well-made videos. There are several ways to give the gift of water. The first school Jay-Z visits has been improved greatly because of a grant from UNICEF. WaterAid has gotten a lot of good reviews. Ruchira has frequently pointed me to WaterPartners International. PlayPumps, featured in the videos, have programs for you to sponsor water-giving infrastructure, including their innovative merry-go-round pump. Global Giving lists a number of water projects you can sponsor, and you can keep a eye on Kiva's loan proposal page to see if there's a water-infrastructure project to finance.
Merry Christmas!
Bella spends four hours every morning ferrying water on her head.She goes to a house which has managed to buy a tap. She still has to add chlorine tablets to the water to make it safe to drink.
Arunabha explains to Jay-Z that the plastic bottle Bella carries water in only holds the ideal minimum amount for one person.
Jay-Z notes how much effort it takes for him to walk up the hill from a watering hole--and he isn'ta kid, and he isn't carrying a full bucket.
Jay-Z and Arunabha look at the PlayPump which Jay-Z bought the school so the kids don't have to make that climb any more.
Comments (3)
That was a pretty impressive sequence of videos. It struck a really good balance of showing outrageous injustice, while providing hope and a path to action. Surely access to food and water are two of the most core rights of all people. I was also amazed by how popular Jay-Z was in Angola & South Africa. I'm on-board! This is actually a really great connection for the classroom. I'll definitely share them with my students, and get them writing our Representative & Senators.
Posted on Dec-25-2006 | Link
This is great...I am glad that people (including me) are finally waking to the world around them.
Posted on Dec-26-2006 | Link
Happy New Year.
Hamari Hyderabadiz ki Team aap ke liye layi hai neye saal ka shandar tohfa:
Happy 2007 - Have Fun with Hyderabad ka Paya Paya with full colors, animation and entertainment that is delicious too.
Please, leave your comments, suggestions, and ideas to improve this blog.
Best, MT
http://hyderabadiz.blogspot.com/
Posted on Dec-31-2006 | Link