“Pure water is the World’s first and foremost medicine.” - Proverb
An estimated 2.5 billion people lack access to basic sanitation, 4 billion people will contract a diarrheal disease annually, and 1.8 million people will die every year from drinking contaminated water. The International Declaration for Human Rights cites clean water as a basic right which all people need and deserve – yet many do not have access. Looking particularly at Malawi, a 2012 survey showed that 18 % of children under 5 have had a diarrhoea monthly, and 74 % of those cases require oral re hydration solution (ORS) for their recovery. Still further, even with a clean water source – there are many points of contact (collection, transport, and storage) which can contaminate water before it is consumed. So, providing water is only half the battle – there must also be the mechanisms in place for that water to make it from the tap to the mouth whilst staying bacteria free. As I walk through the villages today it is clear that Nkhata Bay North continues to have poor water and sanitation- inevitably causing long lines at their rural health centre which happens to have no doctor. When I ask people in the village, “why do you drink water that is untreated”, the response is always simply put– “we are just used”. In the Usisya delta there is tapped water to most of the houses through a very complex and old gravity scheme. Most of the taps leak or do not work, but the water is often treated with chlorine at the source – allowing for fairly consistent clean water. However, in a recent visit to the village we found the source dried up leaving everyone reliant on lake water. This would not be a massive problem; most people live quite close to the lake, except for the fact that treating water is not a large part of the local culture. In fact, if you visit the lakeshore in the morning you will find children brushing their teeth in the lake while a herd of cows take their morning drink nearby. Still further, even when the taps are working the source is not always treated yet people continue to drink straight from the tap without acknowledgement to its contamination (this is partially the fault of local water authorities who fail to inform the community that they have run out of chlorine). Having learned about the dried river and that there are now 14,000 people without a clean water source, we quickly brainstormed solutions. First, we spoke with the CCAP SMART Center (who put in some boreholes a few years ago – which are now be non-functional) and asked if they could immediately their fix three broken wells. As usual they were accommodating and ready to head to the village with a team to fix the wells... by result we facilitated an immediate fix of three clean water sources available in the village. Second, we decided to assess the local community’s plan to fix their water situation. Some local water committee members informed us that they want to lay pipes from a river on the other side of the valley. Our initial response to this plan was that it will take a lot of time and money. Also, if they pull from another river then who is to say it will not dry up as well? Serendipitously, we had contacts with a seasoned pro on the matter and called him in for a consult. Once again proving the giving nature of African expats, our irrigation consultant agreed to go to the village and report back with his professional suggestions... this has allowed us to begin making long-term plans for how to make the village more water secure. Apart from fixing wells and helping with long term plans, there is little else we can do immediately. The next step is to try and convince people that they must treat the lake water before consuming it. However, how do we create behavior change? How do we convince thousands of people that drinking from the lake is harmful when they have been doing it for generations? The fact of the matter is that people know drinking untreated water is bad, but they also believe that if they have survived this long then their bodies must be strong against the bacteria. In truth, one of our field officers filled an empty bottle of coke with lake water and handed it to an HIV positive youth. When I chastised our staff for doing this, he said “his body is used to it”. So, if we have not even convinced the people who we pay to put out the right messages, then how do we reach the masses? Therein lies the issue, I believe the barrier which is keeping people from making decisions counter to the whole is that they are all just used! They wait for hours on the minibus (the same one which drives me to the angriest version of myself), they accept low salaries for long work days, they eat bland food with tasteless nsima (and actually miss it when far from home), and they do all of this because they have always done it. Yes, of course you hear the complaints, but there is never action. A recent news article said that if a minibus has more than capacity then everyone should rise against the driver and demand to not pick more people. However, I have only seen people begrudgingly make more space and hold their new travel companion’s child while more people pile into the sardine can. Change, across the world, is difficult to create because we are creatures of habit and culture. We do as our ancestors because it is what we have always done. Studying this point of behavior change, our third effort to help bring clean water to Usisya is through putting together a pilot project proposal which will put 200 water filters in a portion of Usisya’s households. Then, following a training on water and sanitation, we will try and track if people are shifting to treat their water and practice clean water practices. The reality is that we cannot put water back in the dried river nor can we force people to treat their water before drinking it. We can only hope that by giving people the education and tools needed – they will change their mantra. The hope is that with concentrated trainings, strong data collection, and community driven campaigns we will change the local culture around water usage. Then again, maybe it will just be another failed project in Africa, as that is always the risk associated with community development – that it will fail. At the very least we will begin to have some insight into creating behavior change and cultural shifts with the rural villages which we serve. Also, maybe a few people will shift, maybe one less child will miss school due to sickness or one more mother will give her baby safe water to drink. You do not change communities through floods of action, but rather small drops of change
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"Our Lives Begin to End the Day We Become Silent About Things That Matter."
- Martin Luther King Jr. When one looks back through history, extraordinary people can be seen who spent lifetimes fighting for those who could not fight for themselves. Standing up against the all-encompassing gloom of corruption, tyranny, racism, hatred ... is exhausting and can sometimes blind us against the tiny light (goodness, giving, hope) that still exists silently in the darkness. I am not a political person, but today I cannot help but question the morals of people in America who support racism, and the rampant corruption keeping Africa from developing. As I face both of these attacks on ethics and morality on a daily basis, I weigh them against one another- which is worse and which causes more devastation? On one side, America is currently having its morality challenged with blatant racism amongst those who swear to protect, following a blind belief that a ethically questionable individual could lead with a steady hand, and that money is more valuable than Centuries- old sacred lands. I am a proud American, travelling has made me see just how great our country can be; but in times such as these I find myself less likely to wave my nationality in public. For months people have been debating on social media and families have been torn across the electoral divide. Being an anthropologist, I always try and put myself in the shoes of other people- I want to understand why people would possibly vote for Trump, why does a pipeline need to pass through sacred lands, and what would make a young African America fear her local police force? I won’t go into the intricacies of these tests against our ethics – we have all heard the arguments and watched social media- through all of this I have tried to stay objective. However, I cannot stay quite... Because the decisions made this week and in the coming months will impact everything that I love and value- it will make that tiny light of hope, which I am desperately trying to cling to, go out and I fear never return. If you live in a city with a corrupt police force or close to the pipeline protests- take a stand. If you allow ignorance to continue then you are no better than the racist white-man pulling the trigger. Look at history – look at the regret people have felt for standing by while their communities are torn apart. Don’t ignore race, we are a world of multiple cultures and skin tones, there is no question that I see the world differently than someone who follows Islam, than the African-American who grew up in the ghettos of Chicago, or the West Virginian Methodist that believes prayer will heal. It is our diversity that makes us great, it allows the world of have millions of realities and endless potential. If we do not realize this, and continue to use the old motto of “Us versus Them” then change will never come and we will continue to have the same challenges as our ancestors. Just look at the photos from the pipeline protests and try to deny that it is not reminiscent of the photos taken in 1965 at Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge. If we do not learn from our past – then we are doomed to repeat it. On the issue of Trump, I once again have tried to understand. He has run a large business (somewhat successfully), he is not a politician, and he understands the struggles of the working man.... However, when you put these arguments against facts, I still do not get it. Malawians have asked me, “why do Americans want Trump, he will destroy everything?” and I have no response. How can Malawians understand what Americans cannot? Maybe it is that they have been living under corruption for so long that they are in a rare position to notice it, or because they have experienced first hand what poor American presidencies can do to the African Continent (Bush did a lot of damage here). From my perspective – it is clear that when a white cop shoots an unarmed black child it is wrong and racially motivated, and that Trump is unquestionably sexists and racist with no concept of how to be a true global leader; and I cannot (not matter how much I’ve tried) understand the other reality which is shared by so many. I have an amazing (soon to be) sister-in-law who is Muslim – she has spent her lifetime working to become a doctor so that she can heal people and help mothers through the intricate challenges of bringing forth the next generation. The fact that someone could group such a kind soul with terrorism, threaten to deport her, and make her feel unloved and unwelcomed is unacceptable. Trump has fuelled this hatred – he has made the amazing diversity of America appear to be our weakness and something which should be feared. If you vote for Trump then you cannot see what my Malawian coworkers see- maybe you do not see that you are backing racism, maybe you have not felt what it is like to be hated simply for your heritage, or maybe you actually believe that Muslims, Mexicans, Syrians, Somalis... are less of a human than yourself. On the other side of my debate around 'which is worse', today in Usisya there is no water (the local river has dried up), there is no food (people are eating 1 meal a day of only pounded maize flour), and the hospital is seeing 80-100 patients a day who are inflicted with preventable diseases. They are in this position because generations of greedy individuals have stolen and laundered the money/food/ support which was supposed to help them build up out of poverty. I do not know how anyone could steal the food meant to feed a hungry family, anymore than I understand the individual who would support Trump. Who is causing more damage? The local “business man” who builds his riches off of aid meant for the most desperately poor, or the “business man” who fuels his campaign through fanning the flame of fear against the great multi-cultural people who build America... how do I weigh these things and where do I take up the fight? In the end, I have decided to take up my fight with those who support such actions. One man cannot take down a country, one man cannot steal millions – it is the people who stay quiet and the people who openly support these individuals who I blame. Trump was one of 17 Republican Candidates and the American people are the ones who got him to the final voting line. This is my plea... put yourself in the shoes of the African-American youth, the Muslim-America, the poor family is rural Africa. Try and see the world from the perspective of the people your "leaders" are hurting – and then try to say that the stolen money, the poorly placed vote, or the silence/ignorance are okay to continue with. “The World is a Dangerous Place to Live, Not Because of the People Who are Evil, But Because of the People Who Don’t Do Anything About it.” - Albert Einstein |
Bonnie HarveyCurrently working in northern Malawi as Programs and Evaluations Coordinator for Temwa Archives
June 2019
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