Take a Water Break
A
collection of updates, knowledge, and distractions from us, for
you.
Vol. 15 - July 30, 2020
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This
Week's Highlight
Philip Omukiti is a
member of the water user committee for Asena Spring, which he depends on
for all of his daily water needs. Our team recently visited
Mungakha to conduct a COVID-19 prevention training and monitor
their water point. Shortly after, we returned to check in on the
community, offer a COVID-19 refresher training, and ask how the
pandemic is affecting their lives.
“Staying indoors is not my
thing…It seems I have a lot of time on my hands,” said 31-year-old
teacher.
After several months of
lockdowns, restrictions, curfews, and stress in his hometown of
Mungakha, Kenya, it is easy to find empathy in Philip’s statement as
so many people around the world are facing similar challenges.
Continue reading to learn how the
COVID-19 pandemic impacted Philip and his family.
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Latest
From the Field
See what our team has been working on this past week.
- Last week, our teams trained more than
17 communities on COVID-19, ways to prevent its spread,
and how to ensure that they stay safe while fetching water. In
total, our teams led 870 trainings
since the start of April. We are continuing to train
communities and support water points in Kenya, Sierra Leone,
and Uganda.
- Our teams also completed 25 repairs
on water points in need of attention. In total, more than 243 repairs
on water points since the start of April.
- Mass COVID-19 testing in Kenya has begun to spread
into counties to help test beyond hospital walls. Test results
take five days, on average. The government is following a
schedule for mass testing meant to go through at least
September. COVID- 19 testing is available at these
locations in our areas of impact in Western Kenya -
Kakamega County General Hospital, Malava County General
Hospital (Kakamega), and Mbale County General Hospital
(Malava).
- Our teams in Sierra Leone finished up COVID-19
sensitization training in local markets and are beginning to
hold follow up meetings at the markets visited last month. We
observed some promising trends and some challenges. At the
Lungi market, everyone attending wore a mask and, all of
the handwashing stations were in good order. However, in the
Rotifunk market, we found that all of the handwashing stations
were missing. The market Chair promised to replace the missing
stations. We continue to engage with market leaders and
vendors to promote health behaviors and ensure that they are
taking the necessary steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
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Covid-19 cases to date:
- Kenya - 19,125 (+4,320)
- Sierra Leone - 1,803 (+74)
- Uganda - 1,140 (+65)
* These figures are based on extremely
limited testing.
Data Source
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WaSH in
the News and Notable WaSH Resources
Have some extra reading time? Impress your friends
with your new-found WaSH Wisdom.
USAID’s New Center for Water Security Signals
Progress, But More is Needed - New
Security Beat
"The elevation of water security within USAID is an important
acknowledgement that access to water plays a central role in a
range of development challenges. But it’s a first step. The test
for the Global Water Coordinator and Water Center will be how well
they integrate the Agency’s well-known water, sanitation, and
hygiene (WASH) work with investments in ecosystem health and
freshwater resource management, resilience and climate change
response, food security, energy development, and economic activity
across the Agency within USAID Missions around the world. "
10th anniversary of the recognition of water
and sanitation as a human right by the General Assembly
- OHCR
"Despite all of the important efforts and progress achieved
since 2010, too many people around the world are still waiting for
the promise made by the General Assembly ten years ago to become a
reality in their lives. One in three people still lack access to
safe drinking water and more than half of the World population (4.2
billion people) lack access to safe sanitation, while three billion
people lack basic handwashing facilities with soap and water, and
more than 673 million people still practice open defecation. This
unacceptable situation causes 432,000 diarrhoeal deaths every year.
Those appalling numbers show that progress has been far too slow
and that the international community is far from being on track to
uphold its commitment to achieve universal and equitable access to
safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030, as per
Sustainable Development Goal 6.1 and 6.2."
Inadequate Water & Sanitation Threatens
Women’s & Girls’ Development in Senegal - Inter
Press Service
"In urban Senegal,
water shortages have been frequent for several years, affecting
thousands of households. But this summer, the shortage has
been more acute, as most homes have seen their taps run dry or
reduced to a trickle. In recent weeks during the
emergency coronavirus lockdown, protests have rocked both the
streets of the capital Dakar and M’Bour, a city in western
Senegal. Many citizens complained that water supply has
worsened since this January when the government signed over the
rights of water distribution and management, for 15-years,
to a private company called Sen’eau. As the protests
grew, the company made a public statement, blaming the crisis on a
storm that damaged some of its infrastructure and promised to
normalise distribution by next year."
Yemen facing hidden cholera crisis as COVID
cases set to peak in coming weeks – Oxfam
"Thousands of people in Yemen could be dying from undetected
cases of cholera because COVID-19 has overwhelmed the country's
health facilities and people are too frightened to seek treatment
for fear of the virus, Oxfam said today. The number of
coronavirus cases in Yemen is likely to peak in the coming weeks
while the heaviest rains are expected in August which could deepen
a hidden cholera crisis. The numbers of recorded suspected
cholera cases since March have shown an abnormal decrease. In the
first three months of 2020, there were more than 100,000 suspected
cases of cholera in Yemen but this dropped by 50 per cent in the
second three months. Last year, the numbers increased by 70 per
cent in the second quarter because it coincides with the start of
rainy season."
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Project
of the Month:
Mutulani Secondary
School
Kenya - Planned for August 2020
Provide a rainwater catchment to help at least 275
people find access to safe and reliable water. Learn More »
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Things
We're Reading
Relatively random reads that we found reasonably
interesting.
Love Is Medicine for Fear
- The Atlantic
"The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote in
the Tao Te Ching, “Through Love, one has no fear.” More than
500 years later, Saint John the Apostle said the same
thing: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,
because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not
made perfect in love.” This is a very strong
argument: Love neutralizes fear. It took about 2,000
years, but contemporary neurobiological evidence has revealed that
Lao Tzu and Saint John were absolutely on the money."
How (not) to write about
global health - BJM
"There has been much talk recently in BMJ Global Health,
in other journals, and on social media platforms, about equity in
global health research. But there has been little guidance on how
to write about global health in a way that advances equity and
justice. Inspired by a famous satirical article by the Kenyan
author Binyavanga Wainaina, I present some guidelines for how (not)
to write about global health."
Ebola prepared these
countries for coronavirus — but now even they are floundering
- Nature
"What’s more, some health-care workers say they have not been
paid in two months, and have stopped coming to work as a result.
This problem vexed the Ebola response as well, leading to strikes among
health-care workers. “Since they never paid us what they owed us
during Ebola, I’ve decided not to risk my life again for COVID,”
says Christopher White, an ambulance driver at Kenema Hospital.
A report from the Center for Global Development, a think
tank in Washington DC, projects that such problems are likely to
grow worse as shutdowns and trade disruptions owing to COVID-19
damage the economies of low-income countries. Current trends
suggest that falling economies will translate into a reduction of
US$2 billion in the health budgets of all low-income countries
between 2020 and 2024."
The Seismic Hush of the
Coronavirus - Eos
"Seismic noise has dropped by half during coronavirus lockdown
measures, giving scientists a rare lull to search for hidden
signals usually drowned out by human activities. Researchers
measure seismic waves coming from natural sources, like earthquakes
and volcanoes, as well as human activities. Trucks, cars,
factories, and even shopping can create high-frequency seismic
waves radiating out from population centers, and most scientists
filter out human noise to seek for natural signals. But seismic
noise has been unusually quiet lately, in what scientists are
calling the “anthropause.”"
The Japanese-American
Sculptor Who, Despite Persecution, Made Her Mark - NY
Times
"Today, Asawa has returned as a subject of rediscovery —
someone who has finally been given the kind of international
recognition that was owed during her lifetime, and whose legacy
reflects both her own contributions as an artist as well as the
singular path she forged for herself as the child of immigrants, a
woman and an Asian-American. This past April, the United States
Postal Service announced that 10 different works of
Asawa’s would be featured on a series of postage stamps, out next
month. Also in April, the first comprehensive biography of Asawa,
“Everything She Touched” by Marilyn Chase, was published by
Chronicle Books. She is now routinely included in comprehensive
group shows alongside artists such as Anni Albers, Sheila
Hicks and Bourgeois. Laib, who took the original call from
Asawa’s daughter, eventually moved from Christie’s to the David
Zwirner gallery and is responsible for several lauded solo shows of
her work, resulting in sales of her sculptures for well over a
million dollars."
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Things
We Like
Taylor Swift - Folklore
 "I’m obsessed! It’s
so different for her, and I’m so for it! I love all of the songs
and I keep finding a new favorite. But right now it’s 'my tears
ricochet', 'exile', and 'mad women'."
- Maggie Reilly, Communications Coordinator
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https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-baloney-detection-kit-carl-sagan-s-rules-for-bullshit-busting-and-critical-thinking?utm_source=firef...
https://bawza.com/2013/12/12/early-ethiopians-in-america/ History Early Ethiopians in America By Bawza Staff ...