Give water, and life changes immediately. Women no longer lose time fetching water or getting sick with waterborne illnesses, and children don’t miss school. Businesses grow and people can dream for the future. Water gives Health. Time. Education. It gives joy, dreams, and togetherness. It gives prosperity and a future.
Join the Arizona committee of Water For People to give “meaning to your miles” at the Eight Annual Run for World Water 5k run/1k walk on March 9, 2019, at Kiwanis Park in Tempe. Your presence helps make it happen! By joining us this year you can continue to enhance Water For People’s impact across the globe!
In 2018, there were of 200 runners, 30 volunteers, and over $9,000 was raised and donated directly to Water For People. This would not have been possible without our runners, volunteers, and generous sponsors.
Join us to make this the best Run for World Water to date!
Below is a story by Water For People in how the money raised from this event directly benefits those in the Water For People network:
The Village of Banashyam Nagar, eastern India
Banashyam Nagar is in eastern India — nearly as far to the east in the country as you can go. It lies in the vast delta on the Bay of Bengal, formed by the confluence of several major rivers. Bright green fields are broken up by trees, homes, and ponds. Despite the networks of waterways, communities in this area struggle with reliable access to safe water.
High salinity levels in surface water and stagnant ponds throughout the islands mean drinking water can only come from hand pumps connected to deep wells.
There are 32 families in this village who now use one of these handpumps. It was installed in 2016 with support from Water For People, the local government, and the community itself. Before the pump’s installation, there was no safe water source nearby. Members of the village, primarily the women, walked nearly a mile to fetch water and carry it back.
This was a common experience for the women of Banashyam Nagar — walking a mile one way to the nearest water point, waiting in the queue up to 40 minutes, and then walking back carrying the heavy water vessels — only to repeat this activity over and over every day.
Women in villages like Banashyam Nagar are constantly busy — cooking, cleaning, and caring for their families and domestic animals. Balancing all of this with the hours lost every day fetching water means time is one of their most precious resources. When their new handpump was installed, they gained hours of that time back.
“Since we have the handpump in front of our house now, even while I’m cooking I can just run out and get water,” shares Sulata. As a mother of two girls, the value of this time saved is significant. “Now I can rest. I can also manage my family and household better.”
Sulata’s neighbor Parvati is a 7-year-old who loves dancing. She used to fetch water for her family up to four times a day.
Now, water is associated with time to rest. Women sit on the steps of the covered handpump and talk with their neighbors. Children play nearby. What was once a chore is now an opportunity for these women to take a breath from their busy days and do what they never used to be able to do — relax.
Whether it’s more time to manage a family and household, earn income, or even dance, the village of Banashyam Nagar knows that the proximity of safe and reliable water has given them time.
By joining us in this race you are giving time to families like Sulata’s. Time to work, play, and simply be together. https://www.waterforpeople.org/stories/water-gives-time#.XHRbWnlYbVg
WHAT IS WATER FOR PEOPLE?
Water – Use It Wisely is proud to feature guest bloggers who write about topics related to water and water conservation. Water For People (WFP) is a non-profit organization with the main mission of supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking facilities, sanitation facilities, and hygiene education programs in developing countries. Currently, WFP is working in nine countries: Uganda, Rwanda, and Malawi in Africa; the state of West Bengal in India; Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua in Central America; and Bolivia and Peru in South America. Together with community partners, we are working to make clean water and sanitation possible for Everyone | Forever. Contact Lisa Melton: lmelton@hazenandsawyer.com, or Christina M Gonzalez: gonzalezcm@cdmsmith.com with any questions.