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The Walk for Water Campaign Increases Global Water Access

Walk for Water
Turning an everyday walk into vital support for the world’s most vulnerable is possible through the United Kingdom’s WaterAid campaign, Walk for Water. The campaign encourages the public to participate in a walking challenge that raises funds for pipe installations, well constructions, menstrual hygiene sessions and the building of school toilets in countries with a high count of people living in poverty. Clean water is vital for good health, thriving communities and flourishing economies. Challenging people to walk this month will contribute to improving the lives of women and girls who have to walk up to 12 kilometers every day to collect clean water.

Inequality in Access to Water

A 2019 report by UNICEF and World Health Organization reveals that “2.2 billion people around the world do not have safely managed drinking water services, 4.2 billion people do not have safely managed sanitation services and 3 billion lack basic handwashing facilities.”

These statistics make it clear that mobilization efforts need to pick up the pace in order to meet the U.N. drinking water, sanitation and hygiene targets by 2030. The U.N. asserts that the world’s progress in this area must increase fourfold in order to meet these goals.

Water and Poverty

Rapid population expansion, urbanization and growing water demands from the “agriculture, industry and energy sectors” have put a strain on global water resources. Access to safe and affordable water and sanitation plays a key part in poverty reduction and well-being. Meeting the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in this area would safeguard the lives of 829,000 people per year, who would otherwise die from illnesses arising from contaminated water, improper sanitation and inadequate hygiene.

According to Healing Waters, about 84% of people who lack access to clean water live in rural areas, meaning they rely on agriculture to meet their nutritional needs and secure an income. In cases of water contamination, crops are detrimentally affected and communities end up consuming contaminated food, exposing them to a multitude of preventable diseases and illnesses.

The obvious way that clean water reduces poverty is by improving physical health and well-being. Proper water and sanitation access prevents the spread of water-borne illnesses — the cause of 80% of illnesses in poverty-stricken countries, Healing Waters says.

Access to clean water also reduces poverty by easing the physical burden placed on females of all ages as gender roles prescribe that girls and women bear the role of water collectors. Females must undertake strenuous journeys, sometimes of up to 12 kilometers, carrying heavy buckets of water back to their homes after collection. One of the goals of the Walk for Water initiative is to lift this burden off of females so that young girls can engage in education and women can rest or partake in other productive tasks rather than spending hours collecting water, thus improving the lives of women and girls.

Looking Ahead

It is becoming more and more obvious that properly managed clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services are essential to maintaining human health as the COVID-19 pandemic carries on. However, billions of people would still lack these basic amenities in 2030 unless progress accelerates significantly. Many other aspects of sustainable development depend on water, and in order for the current trend to change, immediate action is necessary.

– Ralitsa Pashkuleva
Photo: Flickr

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The BARKA Foundation is Bringing Clean Water to Burkina Faso

BARKA Foundation

Burkina Faso is a small, land-locked country located in western Africa. Due to recurring droughts and the lack of efficient infrastructure, access to clean water remains an issue in Burkina Faso, especially during the dry winter months when two of the country’s three rivers dry up. In addition to water scarcity, many areas still do not have the sanitation facilities necessary to ensure drinking water is clean and safe. An organization called the BARKA Foundation is working to change that.

Barka is an African word meaning gratitude, blessing and reciprocity. These three words embody the mission of the BARKA Foundation, an American non-profit that strives to bring clean water to all parts of Burkina Faso. In 2015, 93.3 percent of the rural population and 80.3 percent of the total population did not have improved sanitation facility access. Nearly half the country still lives without clean water. Dirty water can spread diarrheal diseases and other infections to the public. Below are descriptions of the BARKA Foundation’s current clean water projects, and the positive effects these projects have had on communities in Burkina Faso.

WASH

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education (WASH) is a long-term initiative that not only supplies rural villages with clean water but also educates the villagers on important sanitation and water purification practices. The goal here is sustainability. By giving village members lifelong sanitation skills, BARKA can be confident that their positive impact will continue after they have left. WASH objectives include digging wells, building latrines and educating members of the community.

Part of what makes the BARKA Foundation special is its culturally sensitive and community-based approach to clean water. Before any project starts, BARKA makes sure it is in accordance with the Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ Principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). This principle ensures that all beneficiary communities agree to the non-profit’s presence and initiatives, have the right to negotiate the terms of the agreement and can withdraw consent at any time.

BARKA also makes a point of developing sustained personal relationships with each village, so the two groups can develop trust and collaborate effectively. The foundation establishes water and sanitation committees in each town, which are run by the villagers and must be made up of equal parts men and women. These principles are central to WASH’s desire to create a sustainable system of clean water and sanitation. So far, more than 25,000 rural villages have been improved by WASH. The organization has drilled 6 wells and built 14 bathrooms in 5 primary schools in rural areas.

Social Art

BARKA recognizes the cultural importance of song, dance and performance in Burkina Faso. Therefore, to engage village members, the BARKA Foundation uses theater to relay information to the public. These performances involve a portable stage along with light and sound equipment. The plays often contain themes such as female empowerment and sustainable agriculture. After a performance, the audience and the actors on stage have a lively debate where questions may be asked or points challenged. The goal is to create an immersive and interactive learning experience in which everyone can participate.

The adult literacy rate in Burkina Faso is only 34.6 percent. For this reason, engaging and participatory education is extremely important in rural areas. BARKA wants to get the necessary information out there in an effective way that does not exclude illiterate members of society. BARKA has involved 10,023 people in villages and public performances to date, benefiting more than 16,000 people. The average audience size per performance is 432 people.

Walk for Water

A great way for people in their home countries to get involved with the BARKA Foundation is to do a Walk for Water. When there are no wells close by, villagers must travel to a water source to fill up heavy jugs of water and lug them home. The chore typically falls on the shoulders of women and girls in the village, so they usually have to attend to small children while making the journey. Often, those going to get water are barefoot or equipped with poor footwear. This practice is physically tiring and time-consuming and takes time away from girls’ education.

Walks for Water are an imitation of this daily burden. Classrooms, schools and clubs raise money and awareness by carrying water jugs and walking for a set distance (usually 6 kilometers). The fundraiser engages the entire community and is a great way to get everyone involved in an important cause.

Ceramic Filters

Ceramic water filters are a cheap, environmentally sustainable and generally effective way to purify household water. The CDC found that people who used ceramic filters were 60 to 70 percent less likely to contract diarrheal diseases from their drinking water. While these filters are useful for removing most protozoa and bacterial pathogens, they are typically not as effective at removing viruses. For this reason, filters should not be considered a long-term solution but rather an important step.

The BARKA Foundation uses a “cross-subsidization” model to distribute filters to impoverished areas. Essentially, BARKA sells the filters to NGOs and the Burkinabe middle class that can afford them. They then use those profits to distribute ceramic filters to poor areas, often visiting rural villages with little to no sanitation facility access. These filters represent a simple and effective way to ensure every household has at least some method of water purification.

The Future of Clean Water in Burkina Faso

Although the federal government recognized the importance of clean water distribution with the Water Act in 2001, Burkina Faso’s local governments largely do not have the money or resources to maintain filtered water and sanitation practices. The BARKA Foundation seeks to fill these gaps, and its efforts have no doubt resulted in success on the ground.

While it can be difficult to quantify exactly how much improvement BARKA has brought about, they are headed in the right direction. In 2005, a year before BARKA was founded, the life expectancy in Burkina Faso was 53.3 years. Today, the country’s life expectancy is about 61 years. BARKA’s various projects will continue to fight poverty by bringing clean, safe and sustainable water to Burkina Faso.

– Morgan Johnson
Photo: Flickr