On Earth Day and Every Day, Women Protect the Planet
by Yifat Susskind
It’s easy to feel desolate about the terrible damage being done to our planet by resource exploitation, industrial agriculture, pollution, deforestation, fossil fuel consumption and more. The BP oil spill, the nuclear crisis in Japan and the mounting threat of climate change can leave us feeling hopeless about the fate of the planet.
MADRE, an international women’s human rights organization, works with women in communities around the globe who refuse to give in to despair. They’re focused on creating solutions, both local and systemic. So this year, for Earth Day, let’s take this chance to remind ourselves of the good news. In communities across the globe, our sisters are on the cutting edge of sustainable alternatives to climate change and environmental degradation.
Clean Water in Kenya
In Kenya, MADRE has partnered with the Indigenous Information Network (IIN) to pioneer improved ways to conserve and manage water in rural communities. We worked with women who knew well the threats they face: droughts intensifying Kenya’s water crisis, women losing hours each day in the search for water and diseases like cholera spreading when scarce water supplies are shared with livestock.
And they knew the solution. Working with IIN in multiple communities, we facilitated the repair of water tanks and pipelines to provide clean water for Indigenous women and families. We also built separate water troughs for their animals, to prevent the spread of disease and control soil erosion around water sources.
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http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/22-7
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