The Trials and Tribulations of Snow: On Fighting for Safe Water for All

Last updated on: January 26, 2016 at 5:21 pm by Guest Contributor

The Trials and Tribulations of Snow: On Fighting for Safe Water for All 2016-01-26T17:21:34+00:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

By Susan Barnett, Founder, Faiths for Safe Water

My dad was the most popular guy in the neighborhood during a snowstorm. He had an old 1950s truck with a bright yellow plow attached to the front. He’d plow all the neighbors’ driveways, leaving them with just the small pathways to clear and making the grueling chore of shoveling so much easier. I grew up in the snow belt of northwestern Pennsylvania. My dad had lots of days to drive around in that old green Ford and plenty of chances to be a good neighbor. And he was.

I suspect there are plenty of folks across much of the U.S. right now who’d love to get their hands on my dad’s old truck. People not used to shoveling have had to move tons of the not-so-fluffy stuff. It’s very heavy. It is, after all, water.

But after that tough couple of hours hauling all this frozen water, heading inside and turning on the taps to gulp down the water that spills out is refreshing. And most of us likely won’t have to shovel too many more times this year. But imagine for a moment the burden of having to shovel snow every day — just to keep your family alive.

Shoveling snow may be mostly a man’s seasonal burden in many parts of the U.S., but in the developing world, hauling the dead weight of water is a woman’s daily burden. Globally, women spend up to 60% of every day hauling 40 pounds of dead weight in those bright yellow jerry cans. It’s backbreaking labor. And it’s horrifyingly dangerous, walking along a desolate path, hoping not to find trouble waiting at the distant water source.

Women bear this burden and face these dangers because water is vital to all life. Today, the lack of access to safe water and sanitation remains the #1 killer of children under the age of 5, killing more children around the world than malaria, AIDS, and TB combined. Killing more people than Ebola. Unsafe water is the world’s silent pandemic.

Yet water is also the single symbol shared by every world religion. Religions have long understood the sanctity of water in ritual and in life.

Perhaps that makes it all the more appalling that in 2016, 663 million people around the world do not have access to safe water. 2.4 billion people lack the basic dignity, safety, and sanitation of a toilet. This global water/sanitation crisis is at the root of half of all cases of under-nourishment in children because repeated bouts of diarrhea and intestinal worm infections make it hard — or impossible — for their little bodies to absorb nutrients. Some 50 different diseases and illnesses are traced back to unsafe water, filling half of the world’s hospital beds.

The World Health Organization looked at those hospital beds, more specifically, at health care facilities in 54 countries after the Ebola outbreak. The WHO found that almost 40% did not have access to safe water; almost 20% did not have even basic sanitation; and 35% did not have soap and water for hand washing. I think about this a lot. The global water crisis undercuts so much. We spend billions delivering life-saving drugs to HIV/AIDS patients, which they must take with contaminated water that makes their already immuno-suppressed bodies sick and unable to absorb the medications. Food security is the popular focus of today’s foreign aid, but it’s impossible without water security.

Not making water, sanitation and hygiene a priority defies all logic. But let’s throw away all the statistics about the global water crisis.

I recently read about a little boy named Allaman. Allaman Sidiqui was born in Mali. His mother, Fatima, has a one in 17 chance of losing her child to sepsis. Easily prevented infections, like sepsis, just require soap and water yet they kill some 430,000 newborns every year. When Allaman was two weeks old he developed black spots over his body and refused to drink. On his 15th day, he died. Each of us was diminished when this unique, unrepeatable gift of human life was wasted. All this little boy needed was some soap and clean water.

If we can help provide ready access to safe water, a toilet and education about proper hygiene, we can set in motion a cycle where maternal and child health becomes a priority. Where surviving to your fifth birthday isn’t just getting lucky. Where illness and death are replaced by education, better health, greater productivity, and new economic opportunities that benefit us all in a global economy and increase our security. The causes of poverty are intricate and complicated. What’s remarkably simple is the immediate impact and multiplier effect of water. We are looking at one of the rare issues where the problem is not bigger than the solution.

We know we can do this. 2.6 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water since 1990 and more countries are focused on ending open defecation and increasing access to sanitation. But until our pipes freeze, or a California town is hit by drought, or water is poisoned with lead, or a snowstorm cripples our city, we never really think about how very fundamental water is to every aspect of all health and life.

Just maybe, the next time you are out shoveling your driveway, you will start to think about this solvable problem. Perhaps, as your muscles tire from the weight of water, you will be reminded to support the many faith-based and secular global health and development organizations that are implementing successful, long-term water and sanitation solutions. Perhaps you’ll help remind Congress at budget time that all God’s children deserve a drink of clean water.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com

Susan Barnett is a former award-winning network news producer, now a strategic media and communications consultant to nonprofits, working at the nexus of media, faith and social justice. She is founder of Faiths for Safe Water and Impact Communications. Because she lives in an apartment in New York City, she no longer needs to shovel snow.

Previous Post

January 25, 2016

Curing our Theological Laryngitis: A Q&A with Tripp Fuller

Next Post

January 26, 2016 Patheos 10 + 1: A Q&A with Bar Church Pastor Jerry Herships

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Author Interviews Battle Over the Body and Blood of Christ Bearing Beauty Book Reviews Christian Education christian spirituallity christianity Christmas Church Church Leadership Contemplation Creation Care Death and Dying Death Penalty Disruptive Change Disruptors Series Easter Education Evolution and Faith Future of Progressive Christianity Gun Violence Health & Wellness Holy Week Interfaith Israel-Palestine Leading Differently Lent LGBTQ Living with Cancer Meditations on the Cross Mental Illness millennials Mimetic Mondays Monday Meditations Movie Reviews New Monasticism Pando Populus Parenting Patheos 10+1 Q&A Series PC(USA) Politics Pop Culture Practical Theology Series Prayer progressive christian Race Relations Reformation religion Religion and Politics Religion in America Rethink Church Social Justice Spirituality Spirituality of the Body Stump a Scholar Technology and Faith Thanksgiving Theodicy Trust Me Church Uncategorized Why I'm Still Christian Youth Ministry

Select a Month December 2025 April 2025 January 2025 September 2023 September 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 November 2021 October 2021 May 2021 February 2021 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 June 2020 May 2020 March 2020 June 2019 March 2019 January 2019 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who killed his brother: Cain or Abel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Cain Adam Seth Abel