Within the first minute of Superwoman, Keys is adorned in traditional garb walking across the Saharan desert to fetch water at a well. On her head rests a basin to collect enough water for either herself or her family.
Trailing behind Keys is a row of other women who are on the same journey to fetch clean water for themselves and loved ones. On their hips they carry infants or toddlers. And on their heads, they too balance an empty basin for water.
In this evocative scene, Keys bends over a water hole and pours water from her basin into the basin of another woman directly behind her at the well.
Without words, Keys captivates viewers and conveys a compelling message. Water must be shared by those who have it, with those who need it most.
Key’s connects the significance of water for superwomen around the world. Empowering women in developing nations is next to impossible without providing them with clean drinking water.
Artistically, the water shared by Keys in the Saharan desert morphs into water poured into a glass by a female executive in corporate America.
In a split second, one witnesses how water connects women from around the globe. Despite social class, education level, or national identity, all superwomen are refreshed by a glass of clean drinking water.
According to looktothestars.org, Keys is also involved with a water charity called Raising Malawi (RW). RW boasts of providing 57,000 villagers in Malawi with piped clean drinking water.
In nations such as Malawi, access to clean drinking water can reduce mortality rates from water-borne diseases. It can provide women with more time to devote to entrepreneurship, thereby decreasing rates of poverty. Clean water provision can have a ripple effect for the development sphere in Malawi and beyond.
Directly and indirectly, Keys continues to open doors for clean water initiatives. She uses her talent, influence, and resources, to make a world of difference in the lives of the world’s superwomen.
Is there a celebrity that you would like to nominate for WaterWideWeb’s Water Celebrity of the Week?
Email us at [email protected]
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Lack of infrastructural development and a water quality monitoring system pose a security threat to the region. Outbreaks of water-borne disease in rural areas could potentially devastate the two countries.
The Environment Security Initiative (ENVSEC), in partnership with the NATO Science for Peace and Security Program (SPS), has implemented a project to establish a water quality management system for both countries.
In an interview with WaterWideWeb, Dilorom Fayzieva, a partner with ENVSEC and SPS, discussed the purpose and progress of the microbiological monitoring project in Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. Please read the complete interview below.
EAB: How was quality of drinking water in the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan identified as a security issue that ENVSEC Initiative in partnership with NATO Science for Peace and Security Program could address?
DF: Microbiological quality of water is an important issue for the entire Central Asian Region, including Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz Republic. There are high risks of the spread of water-borne infections such as typhoid fever, bacterial dysentery and other types of diarrheal diseases in rural areas. These risks exist because access to the piped centralized drinking water sources in rural areas is approximately 50 to 60 percent on average for the whole region. Prevention of water-borne infection outbreaks amongst the population is attributed to the security issue. It is impossible to prevent any outbreaks of water-borne diseases without the creation of an adequate monitoring system, including organization of routine analysis of bacteriological parameters of water indicating water quality from the microbiological perspective.
EAB: What were some of the contaminants in the water supply prior to the project and what effects did they have on the local community?
DF: An increasing number of coli-form bacteria and fecal streptococci in different water sources used by the population create high risks of water-borne diseases in the local communities. These facts were revealed by the recent studies carried out in the Central Asian region by the various researchers like Semenza in Karakalpakstan in 1998 (USA), Herbst in Khorezm in 2002-2004 (Germany), D. Fayzieva and I.Usmanov in the western regions of Uzbekistan in the period of 2000-2010, and others. The high concerns of water-borne diseases are reflected in the regular national reports of the Ministries of Health Care of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. Improving the monitoring system on microbiological quality of water and ensuring that it was on par with international standards were identified as one of the key priorities of the Environmental Health Action Plans of those countries.
EAB: Are you working with any government or other entity to negotiate technology transfer and capacity building between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz Republic?
DF: We are collaborating in order of negotiation, of technology transfer, and capacity building for improving of the quality of water analysis on bacteriological indicators between France, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz Republic. Main partners in this issue are the Institute of Water Problems of Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences and the Scientific Production Center of Preventive Medicine of the Health Ministry of the Kyrgyz Republic. End users of this project are the Republican Center for Sanitary-Epidemiological Surveillance of the Health Ministry of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Bishkek City Center for Sanitary-Epidemiological Surveillance of the Health Ministry of the Kyrgyz Republic. Water bacteriology laboratories of these organizations are equipped by modern type of basic equipment and first stage of the trainings took place at IPL, France within this project.
EAB: Please describe how drinking standards were brought up to international standards?
DF: The main purpose of the project is to improve of quality of water analysis through an international quality assurance system and to establish the same system in the national laboratories of those countries. For achieving of this purpose we are planning to create advanced reference laboratories on water bacteriology by equipping them and training of their personnel.
EAB: If you project did not take place, what would the negative outcome on the Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz Republic would there be?
DF: In the absence of quality assurance system, it is impossible to get accurate and reliable data on prevention of outbreaks cannot occur. Finally, it creates high risk of these infections among population and worsening of sanitary-epidemiological conditions by increasing the mortality rates from water-borne diseases.
EAB: Please discuss the short and long term positive outcome of your project.
DF: A short-term outcome is the creation of the reference laboratories on water bacteriology by equipping them and training national personnel on the international water quality standards. Long term outcomes include sharing the project experience throughout other countries of Central Asian region.
EAB: Thank you for interviewing with WaterWideWeb.
DF: You’re welcome.
In a country like Uzbekistan, where a majority of revenue is generated by agricultural production, ensuring a safe water supply serves to secure the economic system as well. Decreasing rates of poverty and decreasing rates of mortality from water-borne diseases allow these countries to develop beyond a stunted period of economic growth and development.
Threats of the spread of water-borne disease and high mortality rates from them are often associated with countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. In fact, similar problems exist in Central Asia. The struggle to update the international standards on water supply is an endeavor that the entire world faces.
Countries in Central Asia and Eastern Europe struggle from the adverse affects of poor water quality because historically, these countries did not have in place the technology and capacity to develop and manage water quality. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left a region of independent countries that, while not subject to land borders with neighboring lands, still had to manage issues of ensuring peace and security in the region, beginning with the provision of clean drinking water. sharing this themes.
The photo above is a picture of water in Kyrgyzstan
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]]>Australia’s coal and mining industry are suspended and farming operations are at a standstill. Damages incurred by the floods could total up to $5 billion.The economy of Australia, which is largely contingent upon agriculture, has been completely compromised by the floods.
Eight people were reported dead and seventy-two others are missing because of the torrential rain. Over 200,000 people have been affected by the floods. Civilians livelihoods have been washed away with the overwhelming amounts of rain that have swept the countryside.
Water management policy in Australia is mostly geared toward stewarding resources efficiently. However, the water world will witness a complete shift in Australian natural resource policy as officials respond to the floods.
The tricky part of managing water resources appropriately, is that unexpected natural events occur. Timely revisions in Australia’s national water management policy must be implemented to address the crisis. Of course, the rising water level is just the first consequence of the floods. The real trouble for Australia lies ahead.
Crops from irrigated farming will undoubtedly be compromised due to the flooding rains. Other deleterious affects brought on by the disaster will only compound the socio-economic problem that the country now grapples with. One has to wonder if an impending food shortage will follow the floods, since harvests may not yield the same output as prior years. Public health and safety, and the spread of communicable diseases is a major concern in the flood equation as well.
The international community will surely have to invest and intervene in relief efforts for Australia. A formal “meeting of the minds” to discuss short and long term consequences of the flooding is required to mitigate the devastation before it gets any worse.
At present, the country exists in a perpetual state of water crisis. Unfortunately, Australia now faces the other side of the water crisis coin. Infrastructure to deal with an event such as flash flooding was not in place. And consequently, civilians are suffering more because of it.
Water reform policy will be in interesting outcome of Australia’s unfortunate tragedy. Adapting to the exact antithesis of what has plagued the nation for a decade, will prove arduous yet interesting. Moderating existing policy and planning for future legislation must be tackled systematically such that short term needs of civilians are satisfied while long term investments in the economy are secured.
The floods in Australia undermine sustainable development on several fronts. The country has suffered a serious blow to the economy, infrastructure is toppled, and people have been internally displaced from their homes and livelihood.
Cyclic drought and flooding is typically common in Least Developed Countries. However, seeing such an event wipe out an industrialized nation puts issues like global climate change and water resource management at the top of the international agenda.
For everything that remains out of human control, officials must grab the reigns on what is in our control. Organizing a comprehensive water management agenda that prioritizes an enforceable global climate change policy and includes a budget for disaster relief needs to be agreed upon by developing and industrialized countries. Because the floods are not just Australia’s problem, they are the world’s problem. And the world must join in solidarity to implement a reasonable solution.
The photo above is credited to Business Insider.
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]]>Reports indicate that a national safety level for hex chrom in tap water is not yet established. Moreover, public utility agencies are not required to test for it. Essentially, there is no system in place to punish the guilty or protect the innocent in terms of hex chrom exposure in tap water.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Chromium is released to the environment from natural and anthropogenic sources, with the largest releases occurring from industrial sources.” The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) lists standards and policies regarding hex chrom exposure in the workplace. But, similar directives are not applied to utilities providing tap water to end users in the U.S.
Interestingly, bottled water suppliers are not required to test for hex chrom either. So, avoiding hex chrom exposure is out of the hands of the buyer. How can policy makers even up the odds for the average American who doesn’t work in an industrial setting, but clearly wants to avoid hex chrom exposure at all costs?
In light of EWG’s report, perhaps the category of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for water utility providers will expand to include hex chrom testing. Major corporations invest heavily in CSR and sustainability programs but shouldn’t water safety be included in these endeavors?
If utility providers are not forced to abide by national hex chrom safety standards, then municipal water infrastructure projects should develop systems that filter for toxic chemicals like hex chrom. Traces of toxic chemicals like lead and hex chrom are indicative that aging water infrastructure and out-moded legislation regulations need to be restructured in the U.S.
At present, hex chrom can be filtered using reverse osmosis filters on the home tap. But replacing these filters costs $200. In the economic times of the country, spending $200 on a reverse osmosis filter may not be feasible for many families.
Issues pertaining to water contamination effect industrialized and developing countries alike. The latter faces immediate consequences from unclean drinking water and poor sanitation, with high mortality rates from water-borne diseases. The former deals with long-term consequences from hex chrom exposure, with individuals suffering from stomach and gastrointestinal cancers.
Research studies and statistics on the rates of toxic chemicals in tap water is the first step in protecting end users against them. If tap water users are unaware of toxic trace levels in drinking water, they are powerless to lobby for change to protect their water supply.
Working on water problems includes updating aging water infrastructure, holding utility companies accountable for trace levels of toxicants and informing consumers about the contents of tap water. In the U.S., tap water users take drinking water safety for granted. But as the EWG study reveals, water concerns are on tap in the U.S. as well.
Do you live in one of the cities where hex chrom was found in the tap water supply?
Would you invest in the reverse osmosis filter to protect your tap water against hex chrom and other toxins?
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]]>Children in poor countries often have up to 1,000 parasitic worms in their body due to lack of clean drinking water. A five minute shower in America requires more water than a typical person in the developing world uses in one day according to statistics by Water.org. Some of these children will not live to see Santa Clause coming to town. You can change that.
Water.org is a non-profit organization that was co-founded by actor Matt Damon and social entrepreneur Gary White. This holiday, Water.org is offering seasonal shoppers the opportunity to give two of life’s greatest gifts, health and hygiene.
Nicole Wickenhauser is the Sr. Communications and Development Manager of Water.org. In a telephone interview, Wickenhauser told WaterWideWeb, “You can change someone’s life with just a $25 donation”.
Please watch the video of Water.org’s work in Bangledesh here
Donations from holiday givers to Water.org are allocated to community water projects in South East Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Investing in health and hygiene this holiday season is a dual offense to combating mortality rates from water-borne diseases in the developing world.
Research from Water.org concludes that almost one billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water, while 2.5 billion people do not have access to a toilet. Research also indicates that lack of sanitation is the world’s leading causes of infections. A majority of the world’s illnesses are caused by fecal matter. The cholera outbreak in Haiti is an unfortunate example of the dire consequences witnessed when proper programs are not instituted to keep drinking water and sanitation systems to separate.
Water needs and sustainable solutions to meet those needs vary according to the region and community serviced. Water.org works with local partners who can identify a community’s specific needs and trouble shoot methods to meet them appropriately. These local partners are trained on maintenance repairs and other services needed to maintain the operation of the water service after it is implemented.
“We conduct surveys to ensure that projects are effective. We follow up on our programs and monitor the water point’s functionality at all times,” said Wickenhauser. Efforts launched by Water.org include education on hygiene practices and their link to public health. Informing community members on the importance of hand washing and other personal hygiene regimens goes hand in hand with addressing underlying issues like infection and mortality.
In the developing world, 90 percent of deaths from diarrheal diseases occur in children under 5 years-old. For them, holiday will not be the fan fare that other people enjoy. This holiday, consider a giving the gift of health and hygiene to children who can’t live another day without it.
The water crisis causes more deaths than wars cause fatalities. Individually, we may not have the ability to bring peace to warring nations, but we do have a chance to save more lives than on the battlefield. As a holiday gift, it is the gift of life.
What’s on your holiday list this season?
Would you consider investing in health and hygiene?
Other articles on WaterWideWeb.org that you may enjoy:
Student NGO Builds Wells in India
Bridging Water and Education in Kenya
UNICEF Targets Latino Community in Awareness Campaign
Repairing Water Wells in Africa
Please read WaterWideWeb.org’s newest series on Nautical Archaeology:
Part I-Nautical Archaeology Threatened by Trawling
Part II-UNESCO Works to Preserve Nautical Archaeology
*All media in this article was provided by Water.org
By the end of 2007, Zaparde and Petrovic raised $1,000 to dig a well in Paras, India. The two raised money by hosting bake sales and car washes. After the first well was built in Paras, Zaparde and Petrovic continued their water work in other rural villages. In a telephone interview Zaparde told WaterWideWeb, “On the drive to Paras in 2007, I saw at least 25 other villages with the same problem. I figured, if we can help one village, we can help more”.
Currently, DWI partners with schools in New Jersey and other states to raise awareness and funding for well projects in India. “We just want to show other students that young people their age are struggling just to find clean drinking water”, said Zaparde.
DWI builds wells close to schools to maximize the number of people who can access clean water from the well. Residents in neighboring villages can find water at the well without traveling extensive distances in search for clean water.
“Digging wells near schools makes the most sense. Students in schools without clean water access have to sit through an entire day without water. Now, students can bring water home to their families at the end of the day”, continued Zaparde.
Maintenance of water wells is an important facet of the work of DWI. Water wells are used constantly. Villagers sometimes use the well from early as 3 a.m. until midnight. DWI works with village leaders, appointed by local community members, to ensure that the well is functional at all times. Village leaders have the contact number for DWI personnel who can respond as swiftly as possible to a broken well.
Fundraising campaigns of DWI allocate money specifically for repairs if the well should break. “We set aside a certain amount of money so that we are there and ready to respond if a well breaks”, assured Zaparde.
The DWI project is an exceptional example of the social change mobilized by grassroots student-led movements. When it comes to clean water, anyone can make a difference in the life of rural villagers and school children.
Photo Credit: All photos in this article belong to DrinkingWaterforIndia.org
The work of DWI impacts local communities in several capacity. DWI provides a water resource, which in turn, alleviates the strain of finding water. Women, who typically are responsible for finding clean water, can dedicate the precious resource of time, to duties other than water gathering.
Mortality from water-borne diseases such as typhoid fever and bacterial diarrhea will decrease when projects such as DWI expand their work in developing countries. Children can attend school on a regular basis, without worrying if there will be enough water to be comfortable throughout the school day.
Water impacts a community from the ground up—literally. Simply providing clean water has implications for community members at all levels. The structure of these remote villages will develop over time. As water-borne diseases decrease, education and life expectancy will increase.
Questions arise about the work of governmental municipalities responsible for remote village’s water supply when reviewing the work of DWI. Are governmental programs monitoring the complex issues that undermine social and economic development in the rural communities of India?
NGOs and other non-profit organizations can certainly make a difference by supplying the immediate water need of villages. But, legislation and federal regulation of water policy must be implemented and enforced if a sustainable solution to India’s water shortage problems is to be reached.
The short-term effects of water projects in India’s remote villages will relieve the daily task of walking two miles or more to find water, water which may not even be safe for consumption. Over time, the literacy rates in these rural communities will increase. Two symptoms of poverty, illiteracy and unsafe water, will be assuaged.
Efforts to provide clean drinking water to communities that aren’t read about in major newspapers or featured on news specials can be undertaken by any individual. However, a balanced response to water issues must enlist the support of local governments, community members, and aid agencies if a sustainable future for these communities is sought.
Communities can change from within but there must be a solid infrastructure to fit that change from the outside. How can governmental programs reach even the remotest villages in their country? Will that be left up to projects like DWI? Or, will the work of DWI inspire a renewed sense of responsibility for a nation’s people across the socio-economic strata? Unfortunately, only time will tell.
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]]>In developing countries like Haiti, the water supply is largely controlled by private sector vendors. These vendors can charge excessive rates for poor and inconsistent quality, of unmonitored water supplies. Until national programs are instituted to control water supply at an affordable rate to the entire population, innovative alternatives to private sector vendors and grant funded projects must be provided.
Professor Umpanu Lall is the Alan and Carol Silverstein Professor of Engineering at Columbia University. In a telephone interview Lall told WaterWideWeb, “Innovations that we need are at the user scale. The challenge we face in the developing world is making a cost-effective transition to distributed water systems, where treatment happens at the point of use, from centralized systems that filter water from the source”.
The Water Credit Initiative (WCI) is the first endeavor of its kind to offer micro-finance loans to communities in developing countries, where traditional credit programs are not in place. The framework of WCI is designed so that local communities can invest in sustainable water projects that target their specific water needs.
Water quality control at the point of use is integral to implementing sustainable and safe water projects. Enterprises like the WCI are only effective if water alternatives for these communities are available and completely sustainable at the local level. However, such endeavors comet a high price.
Microfinance loans are disappointing investors in the non-profit and private sector. The grant funding process can be time consuming and when funds finally reach the local community, the needs of that community may already be quadrupled by public health issues.
Bridging the finance gap in successful water projects is a tall order that requires a multi-level response. Technological advancements developed by engineers that provide cost-effective water treatment options are essential to this course of action.
Investing in water projects that allow end users to control the quality of their water is necessary to decreasing mortality from water-borne diseases and poor sanitation systems.
How can progress be measured with respect to water projects in the developing world? Will success statistics include the dollars and cents value spent on saving lives? Or will reports reflect only the numbers saved by implementing cheaper and less safe water projects? Engineers and designers are working to create solutions to the problem of water which are financially feasible and manageable. Saving time and money on effective water projects that are sustainable will in fact save lives.
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]]>In order to raise awareness in the Big Apple, UNICEF partnered with Casanova Pendrill, a Hispanic consumer expert and marketing agency, to target the Hispanic population in New York to bring the issue of dirty water to the busy streets of New York City.
UNICEF’s TAP Project began in 2007. By 2009, the initiative had yet to reach out to the Hispanic community specifically. In a telephone interview, CEO and President of Casanova Pendrill, Ingrid Otero-Smart told WaterWideWeb, “The need is so big and the awareness was so low ,especially with the Hispanic community”.
Research from Casanova Pendrill indicates that Hispanics give to charities that they are familiar with. They also give to charities that are close to home. “We had to shock people into action”, added Otero-Smart. So they came up with “The Dirty Water”, a non-traditional segment of UNICEF’s TAP water project.
Annually, UNICEF’s TAP water project takes place in March, during World Water Week. In 2009 UNICEF set up a vending machine in New York City’s Union Square, the heart of the City. The vending machine didn’t sell bottles of the clean and clear water that New Yorker’s are accustomed to. Instead, the machine sold bottles of dirty water, clearly labeled as contaminated with diseases like typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and even dengue fever.
Please watch the video of the Dirty Water Campaign here
UNICEF representatives stood in Union Square and offered bottles of contaminated water to by-passers. The bottles of contaminated water certainly caused a reaction from onlookers. People could purchase a bottle of dirty water for just $1.00. The dollar donation would go to the TAP water project and provide 40 children with fresh water for a day. People who wanted to donate but didn’t have spare change could donate via text message from their cell phone.
The goal of the Dirty Water was to raise $1 million. To achieve this objective, Casanova Pendrill launched a comprehensive bi-lingual media campaign that included television, radio, print digital and billboards.
The media push was successful, exceeding the $1 million . “We’re already on our second year and we’re just getting briefed for year three”, confirmed Otero – Smart.
Please watch the following media presentations by Casanova Pendrill:
The Dirty Water represents a new approach in raising awareness about global issues. Conventional methods to inform people about international public health problems, disparity, and preventable deaths are not effectively reaching all segments of the population.
Partnering with advertising and expert marketing companies proves to be an effective method to cause even distracted New Yorkers to stop and take a second look. Tapping into the public conscious requires direct endeavors that are visual and informative.
Providing useful information and an opportunity to make a difference is a tricky game, one mastered by the Dirty Water.
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In Cote D’Ivoire and Uganda, the risk for water-borne diseases like typhoid, bacterial diaherrea and Hepatitis A is very high. The school life expectancy for Ivoirians is a total of six years and for Ugandans is 10 years. With access to clean, safe and reliable water, these Ivoirians could return to school and live past the life expectancy of 56 years-old. With clean water, Ugandans could outlive the life expectancy of 52 years-old.
Charity: water (C:W) is a non-profit organization that brings clean water to communities in Africa and other parts of the world. In 2009, C:W completed 1,058 water projects with 150 water points rehabilitated in 11 countries. Last year, C:W rehabilitated wells in Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia, Uganda, Honduras, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Central African Republic and Ethiopia. According to the 2009 progress report, water resources were restored to 63, 143 people.
In an interview , the Water Projects Manager Jonna Davis told WaterWideWeb, “If there is an opportunity to rehabilitate an existing non-functional water point in an area with great need, then we think that’s a worthwhile investment…”
Charity: water works with partners in local regions who report non-functional wells that can be rehabilitated. These local partnerships ensure that the community where the water well was dug is served after the initial relief effort was launched.
“An old broken water point can often be a sign of failure for a community and bringing it back to an improved service is much more practical than building a new project right next to it” confirmed Davis.
Clean water affects communities such as Cote D’Ivoire and Uganda on an immediate and long-term basis. Water wells need repair every few years. Hence, digging a well is the first step to managing the issues of public health, safety, and social development that hinder progress in these countries.
When a community has a reliable water source, markers of development are noticed in the daily life of residents. Children can attend school and women can spend time on duties unrelated to fetching water. Scarce water resources means that choices between a clean school uniform, a watered garden, or cooking a meal must be made for the short supply of water that a family survives on daily.
Functional wells in local villages ensure the safety of women in vulnerable areas of the globe. If a well breaks and water is unavailable, women and girls are forced to walk long distances to fetch water for their families. They leave home before the sun rises and are at risk for rape and physical assault on the long roads to a water source outside of their village.
On the outskirts of these villages, roads are not patrolled by security forces. Young women and girls face grave danger for the sake of finding clean water. The trek to fetch clean water can take hours, which may have been spent getting an education or working for their family. The livelihood and wellbeing of women in developing nations is largely affected by access to water. If water wells break in their community, they suffer immensely.
“Our primary concern is providing clean and safe water access where it is most needed. If there is an opportunity to rehabilitate an existing nonfunctional water point in an area with great need, then we think that’s a worthwhile investment since rehabilitation generally costs less than constructing a brand new point of access” Davis continued.
The safety of women and girls who live in internment camps as internally displaced peoples or refugees, as is the case in Cote D’Ivoire, is affected by their ability to find water. Water is a non-violent solution to protecting the vulnerable members of these dangerous and war-torn communities.
Charity: Water is enhancing their water well rehabilitation practices to keep water flowing in communities of greatest need. Mobile programs where trained technical provisions can travel to different villages and service broken wells are in the works.
For women and girls in conflict countries with high rates of water borne diseases, water is part of their survival in an undeniable way. Providing water is the first step to securing their livelihood. Keeping the water flowing is the never-ending second step. It is an investment with a return incalculable in numbers and figures, but in quality of life.
The picture above provided by Biliana Rakocevic.
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Do you think building new water wells is more important that rehabilitating nonfunctiong ones?
What are your thoughts on well maintenance and water projects in the developing world?