When Nobert Alupo was just shy of 7 years, her father passed away. Nobert’s whole family was devastated with grief and was unsure of how to support themselves without him. Nobert’s mother took his death the hardest and after only a couple of months, she abandoned her family. As the eldest sister, Nobert was responsible for taking care of her younger sisters who she remembers crying all the time because they were so sad about losing both of their parents.
Since the family was already below the poverty line before Nobert’s dad died, they didn’t have much to go on. The siblings relied on their extended family members, like aunts, uncles, and grandparents to support them. However, no one in their family was well off, so daily necessities like food, clothing, schooling costs, and shelters were a struggle to manage. Luckily Nobert’s aunt was able to pay for the girls’ educations. However, being a girl made an already hard life that much more difficult for Nobert. As she matured, Nobert found attending school to be quite challenging during her menstrual cycle since her aunt couldn’t always afford to send her pads and since at that time, there was no sanitary water near the school. Every month, she would miss out on learning, simply because of her gender. Nobert is so thankful to Drop in the Bucket, who provided a sanitary well at the school. “It has been of help that Drop in the Bucket has protected a well for the school, water has been brought closer and constantly available which has lessened the burden in times of emergencies,” Nobert says.
Abdallah Linos is 31 years old and works as a teacher at the Oguruny Primary School in the village of Oguruny in South Sudan. He has been teaching at the school since 2010. The school has only six classes, P1-P6, with 408 pupils.
When the civil war broke out, Abdallah left the village to live in the Kahuma Refugees Settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. In 2009 he came back to his village with his wife and family and started teaching.
Since the well was completed in May everything has changed for the school. For a large part of the year the students would get their water from the nearby hills, but during the dry season this water source from would dry up. He explained to us that once the waterholes dried up and there was no water for drinking, there was also no water to use in food preparation, so the children would be forced to be at school all day hungry. This made things very difficult and affected the children’s ability to learn.
I recently watched a segment of the HBO show Vice about the Fat Farms of Mauritania. In it, a reporter traveled to the West African country to profile the ancient practice of brutally force-feeding young girls to fatten them up to make them more attractive for marriage.
In their culture, a fat woman is seen as a symbol of a man’s wealth. So the fatter the girl, the higher her perceived value. Girls are used to elevate the social status of fathers and husbands, to forge alliances between families. It’s about buying into the girl’s family. The girl herself is just bait.
I spend half the year in East Africa with Drop, constructing water wells at schools to help girls get an education. Without those wells, education is not even an option for many girls in this region. Instead, they are forced to serve the family by spending a major part of every day fetching water. Another way they are meant to serve the family is through their bride prices or dowries.
A dowry is when the groom’s family makes a payment to the bride’s family, usually in the form of cows or money. Protecting this exchange is of great importance to a girl’s family, so her childhood is very often cut short by an arranged child marriage. Many girls are married off as soon as they reach puberty. This avoids the risk that she could lose her virginity before marriage, or worse, that she might get pregnant. These families have been counting on these dowries since the girls were babies. They often need it to feed the family and provide for the brother’s dowries.
In Mauritania, the girls don’t want to eat all of that food. If a girl refuses to eat because her stomach hurts, the family beats her or cracks her feet with a stick, sometimes breaking her toes. If she can not hold down the food and vomits, she is often made to eat the vomit.
These girls are being dragged into a pattern of bad health that they will carry for the rest of their lives. In other parts of Africa, a girl is fed less than her brothers. It’s the same oppression, just opposite extremes.
Whether it is fattening a girl to marry her off or marrying a 13-year-old who then dies trying to deliver a baby that is too big for her small frame, the girl’s health is of little concern. Imagine being a young scared teen delivering a baby in the deep village with no medical assistance. According to the UN, in South Sudan, a 15-year-old girl has a higher risk of dying in childbirth than of finishing secondary school.
Regardless of how it’s packaged, it’s a systematic, long-standing acceptance of objectifying, oppressing and abusing young girls. From birth, a girl is viewed as a product to be owned by men. Since she will eventually be married into another family, there is generally little concern for educating a girl. It is expensive, and everybody knows she will be traded off at 15 years old in a family arrangement, in which she has no say. And her husband can do with her as he pleases, since he paid for her. Until that time, she is merely a female form to be manipulated and molded in order to meet a standard that will hopefully lead to a higher bride price. After that, her primary duties will be bearing as many children as possible and serving her husband.
In a study conducted by Mifumi, a non-government organization in Toroto, Uganda, 60 percent of the women surveyed believed that bride prices contributed to domestic violence. Women are treated as possessions, which leads to inequality. But the system is slowly changing. In many countries, including Uganda and South Sudan, the government has outlawed underage marriage. But long-held traditions are hard to break, and these laws are rarely enforced in the deep villages.
I enjoy watching Vice, and I think it is a brave show. I just wish they had delved a little deeper into this topic. It’s not about men preferring heavy women – it’s a human rights issue that, fortunately, more and more people are starting to become aware of.
We can’t keep looking at situations like Fat Farms and think they are cultural quirks. There is a global humanitarian crisis of oppressing women and girls. Whether it’s girls being sold into sex slavery, publically flogged for being raped or fattened up to be traded like cattle, these are our wives, our sisters and our mothers. It’s our duty to help them.
It’s not our job to change other cultures. That change must come from within. But I meet girls everyday who desperately desire change. They just need their voices to be heard. And the key is education. An educated girl demands more for herself, and an educated mother demands more for her children. The work we are trying to do with Drop in the Bucket is not just about supplying children with clean water, though that is certainly the first very important step. It is about getting children educated so that they can stand up for themselves and end the cycle of this oppression.
Students from the Day Middle School in Temecula, CA decided to help children in Africa gain access to clean water after learning about the water crisis from Skye McNeil, founder of the website Skyetime.com. She explained that children in Africa spend hours every day walking 6 to 7 miles to fetch water for their families and in turn, miss school. Skye also told the kids about how Drop in the Bucket builds wells and toilets at schools in Africa and the Day Middle School students jumped at the chance to get involved.
They got together with Skye and designed a silicon bracelet with the words “start a ripple, create a wave” and before long they had raised $250! The kids are so excited about their fundraising success that they want to continue and even possibly start raising money for other charitable causes too. Thank you students of Day Middle School and Skye McNeil!
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Hello Everyone,
As you may have heard, today, March 22nd is World Water Day!
When Drop in the Bucket formed back in 2006, 1.1 billion people were without access to clean water. Today, that number has gone down to 783 million. This positive change proves that together we are making amazing progress, but as we all know, we still have a long way to go.
One high school, St. Gabriel, located in Concord Township, Ohio, reached out to us recently after reading about Drop in the Bucket. The students of St.Gabriel’s decided to participate in WWD by planning an overnight fasting fundraiser in their gymnasium starting this weekend! The students are choosing to fast because they understand how difficult it is for children in Africa to get fed properly everyday and want to show their dedication and care by going without food themselves. St.Gabriel hopes to earn $6000 to build a well at the Obule Primary School in Uganda through this fundraiser and other initiatives they are planning.
After hearing about this, the students of the Obule Primary School in Soroti, Uganda were completely blown away that high schoolers here would go out of their way in this manner to support them. They asked how they could show their appreciation to the American students so we gave them paper and colored pencils and suggested they draw pictures. They gave us pictures of their lives and families that we will bring back and give the students of St Gabriel’s. The Obule pupils told us the idea of students in America going without food for them deeply touched them and they felt extremely honored and grateful.
These students from Ohio chose a great way to remind us that we are all so similar. Each one of us that is alive on this planet today is in this together and everyday is a chance for you to share in this connection. If the task of helping 783 million people get clean water seems daunting, you can simply begin by helping one.
Thank you for your amazing support!
Donate, fundraise, spread the word! Ending the cycle of poverty starts with just one Drop. Are you ready to be part of the solution?
Almost 1 billion people on the planet lack access to safe drinking water.
Dirty water and poor sanitation kill more children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.
Every 20 seconds a child dies from a lack of clean water or sanitation.
More people have access to a cell phone than a toilet.
Do we just accept this or is it time to do something?
It’s 2013 and the human race has reached amazing heights in technology. We can explore another planet’s surface and even assess its water conditions! But as advanced as we are, how is it possible that one in every eight people on our own planet lacks this most basic resource?
Do we just accept this or is it time to do something?
I used to read facts like these and think ‘I wish someone would do something about this,’ until I realized that I AM someone and the time to help is now.
March 22nd is World Water Day. It’s just one day, but that’s a great place to start.
So how can YOU help?
There are plenty of ways to participate in World Water Day. Why not plan a World Water Day party, or just invite some friends over for dinner? Maybe show them this video.
then encourage them to post it to Facebook and other social media sites. Read them some of these water facts and then make a donation or even start a fundraiser
Let your friends know that you feel strongly about the clean water crisis and that access to clean water is a human right. You can be a voice in your community.
If that’s not possible how about sharing this video post it on Facebook or Twitter. Let your friends know that clean water is important to you and that you feel everybody deserves the right to drink clean water.
Drop in the Bucket has a few things coming up and we would love you to join us! Events: March 15th: President and co-founder of Drop, John Travis, speaks in Fountain Valley at 8:30AM.
This World Water Day event is hosted by Tetra-tech in Fountain Valley, Orange County. The event will include breakfast and a tour of their facilities. There is no cost and you will leave with a better understanding of what our world is currently facing in terms of the world wide water crisis. March 21st: Cocktails For Causes World Water Day Event. 8:00PM.
Where: Whiskey Blue Bar At W the Hotel Westwood – 930 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, California 90024
Event information: Cocktails For Causes invites you to their Annual World Water Day Event to support Drop In The Bucket, a non profit organization that builds wells and sanitation systems at schools in Africa. Guests will enjoy music by DJ Tiffany and violin virtuoso, DJ Manifesto. John Travis, President and Co-founder of Drop In The Bucket will also be addressing the audience. Admission is free but we encourage everyone to donate what they can to this fine organization (suggested donation $30/person).
Music by: DJ Tiffany and Violinist DJ Manifesto
Guest Speaker: John Travis, President and Co-founder of Drop In The Bucket
Buy your tickets and show your support for clean water for all by clicking this link March 23rd: Radio Disney hosted Run/Walk in El Segundo.
The day after World Water Day, we’re putting on an event with Radio Disney in Los Angeles. It will be a walk/run in El Segundo that we are expecting a large crowd for. There will be a Drop in the Bucket presentation at the event with a speaker and we will have a table set up with merchandise, sign-up sheets, stickers, wristbands, and other goodies. Come by and say hi, we’d love to meet you!
If we can explore another planet, isn’t it time we made sure everybody on this planet has access to something as basic as clean water?
Founded in 2007, the Obey Awareness Program, operated by Obey Clothing designs, began as a way that artist, designer, and humanitarian Shepard Fairey could support causes he believes in by selling specially designed merchandise and donating 100% of the money raised from that merchandise to hand picked organizations and their causes.
Shepard is a strong believer that clean water is a human right and this year Drop in the Bucket was honored by being one of only two causes chosen for the 2013 season. This year’s other organization is Jail Guitar Doors which provides musical instruments to incarcerated people.
We are extremely honored to have the support of Shepard and everyone at Obey Clothing and are very excited to be able to see these great designs turn into clean water and toilets at schools in Africa. To pick up your stylish shirts please visit Obey Clothing’s online store today!
Decades of war in northern Uganda left the region impoverished and its inhabitants in a severe state of shock. Compounded with high illiteracy rates and inability to access education, Ugandans are often unable to financially support themselves in a world where education equates opportunity. Although Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), are no longer active in the region, the shadow of their reign of terror still looms over northern Ugandans who must now pull themselves out of poverty.
Rather than focusing on simply dispensing aid, several organizations took a different, more direct approach and worked alongside the people living in IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps, establishing beading programs enabling the locals to finally have their own source of income. Beading programs teach local women how to construct jewelry from old magazines, which they, in turn, can sell for profit. These programs provide amazing opportunities for women who lack the literacy skills to work in other fields. These beads provide a source of financial independence, enabling them to feed their families and be able to afford their children’s school fees, thereby (hopefully) cutting the cycle of poverty and illiteracy. At Drop in the Bucket we believe education is one of the major ways to break the cycle of poverty, and we are happy that selling these beads may make that happen.
All of the beads are unique and hand made in northern Uganda. To purchase yours please go to our online store.
Camboni Primary and Secondary School in Aweil Town was the location of one of the wells we recently repaired. The school was constructed by the Catholic Church, in the 1970s, but they are no longer funding it and the government has taken over. While we were there observing the work, I met the principal, Antonia Adhel. I was impressed that a woman was holding in such a prominent position, which is rare around here. She was also beautifully dressed in the most vibrant African fabrics and was extremely outgoing. I am always interested in talking about strategies for keeping the girls in school and knew for sure that Antonia would have something to share.
She told me that this school had graduated some of the most prominent women in the country, including the State Speaker for the House of Representatives and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. But she said I should really meet her aunt Sister Sidonia Aman Tong, who founded the school and was now in her 90s. Little did I know that Sister Sidonia is a legend in Northern Bahr el Ghazal.
We scheduled a meeting for 10AM on Saturday. When I arrived Sister Sidonia was bright and ready to talk. She looked like she was in her 60s and had a mind to match. Her English was better than most and she had a sweetness that is rare in a war-torn area.
She began telling me her story. She was the first black Sudanese nun and it had been no easy task. The story was long and beautiful but basically in the late 30s Italian Missionaries came to Aweil and set up a school and she was determined to go. She wanted to get an education but not only that, she wanted to be a nun. The Sisters had such personal pride and she was extremely drawn to that. But it was unheard of around here to do something like that – everybody gets married and has children!! And she was very beautiful, with only one sister. So her family was relying on her beauty to bring a large dowry of one hundred cows, which her brothers and cousins would also to use to marry.
Sidonia went to the school every chance she got and eventually the nuns taught her to cook and began paying her a small amount to prepare their meals. Finally her brothers came and demanded that if she stay in school that the Bishop must pay her dowry. Sidonia agreed to pay her own dowry with her money from cooking and continued going with school.
She completed school and officially became a nun in 1942. Being the first black nun in Sudan, she met with much resistance. This was not considered appropriate in the culture. Ultimately she settled in Aweil and started running the Camboni.
Her mind had been opened up to so much and she knew that the village girls would also benefit from school. She convinced the Catholic Church to buy her a truck and began going village-to-village bringing the girls back to her school, telling the parents that an educated girl world get 1000-cow dowry!! (I LOVE THS WOMAN!)
During the war, the soldiers from the North occupied Aweil. Although Sister Sidonia kept the school open, they were constantly harassed and threatened by Sudan soldiers. One time she was taken from the school at gunpoint and taken to the barracks. The soldiers threatened her life and insisted she stopped teaching the children English and that she only taught them Arabic. She refused and told them they would have to kill her before she stopped teaching English. Despite the threats she continued teaching the children English, as well as Dinka, their tribal language and Arabic. Somehow she knew somehow that the ability to speak English would be important for their futures, and she was right. English is now the national language of South Sudan.
The soldiers did many things to harass the school, including taking the school uniforms at one point, leaving some children naked. But Sister Sidonia said she was never afraid of their guns and taught the children to be courageous. When the Antonov bombers would come, she would tell the children not to run but to lie down flat and be strong.
I could have stayed all day listening to her beautiful courageous stories but I could tell she was growing tired. The long struggle that ended with the secession of South Sudan was fought by many people from many different walks of life, who knew that one of the bravest would be a nun.
Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness are big words around this region these days. Disaster preparedness refers to unpredictable events like drought and floods.
I experienced it during the dry season last winter when the schools in Northern Bahr el Ghazal closed down so families could migrate to swamps in search of water. But this time I saw the opposite side of the disaster. Annually, 100,000 households in the state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal are affected by seasonal flooding. Crops are destroyed, causing a further strain on the increasing population, with so many coming back from the north.
When I arrived this time, Aweil was in a state of emergency from intense flooding. Violent storms came every other night and the communities were completely vulnerable in their flimsy, exposed houses. Seventy-eight percent of the population lives in small huts that collapse under the pressure.
Our team had been sending regular updates about the emergency and when I arrived many people had begun relocating onto the roadside, away from the rising waters.
The resiliency of these communities is amazing. People are somehow able to remain friendly as they help each other move their families and meager belongings to higher ground.
Life is already a struggle, without the added stress of disasters. According to official NBeG Strategic Work Plan 2012-2015.
31% of the population has to walk for more than 30 minutes one-way to collect drinking water.
13% have to walk more than one hour.
58% of the population use firewood or grass as the primary source of lighting
30% have no lighting.
97% of the population uses firewood or charcoal as the primary fuel for cooking.
And a staggering <b>96% of the population </b>does not have access to any toilet facility.
With open defecation commonly practiced, there is a huge risk of disease outbreaks such as typhoid and cholera, from the contaminated floodwater.
While most of the aid community was responding to the emergency by relocating families and distributing food, our team recognized the risky hygienic situation and immediately began an additional campaign of School Led Total Sanitation in the 11 schools we were already working. Each of the schools has an enrollment of between 800 and 1200 due to the large number of returnees from the north. We knew we needed to reinforce some serious sanitation messages, in order for these children to avoid contracting some dangerous diseases from the contaminated floodwater.
We spent a week at each school going class by class with sanitation messages. We worked closely with the Inspector of Schools who was thrilled that we were able to assist. We encouraged the children to use the latrines and stressed the importance of keeping things as clean as possible, explaining that the water is contaminated. We emphasized the importance of hand washing and boiling their drinking water. As usual, the children were very receptive to these messages. Their young minds are open, eager and interested. School is a wonderful place to begin instilling these important concepts. And by starting young, hopefully these ideas remain with the children throughout their lives. Providing clean water is just a band-aid if you are not promoting hygienic practices and safe methods of keeping the water clean for consumption. It’s easy to take for granted that the water coming from our tap is clean. But out here there are many ways of contaminating clean well water, after it’s pumped and before it’s consumed. Our teams are dedicated to ensuring that doesn’t happen.
One afternoon we ran into a local boy named Ngor Garang Tong, a 5th grader at Salva Kiir Primary School, one of the schools we were working in. He had a small after-school business of shining shoes and said he uses his money to help his mom feed his six siblings. He told us he is trying to save more money so he can build his family a safe and secure house. Ngor said he loves school and attends every day, without missing. His favorite class is English. He told us when he grows up he is going to be governor or community leader.
Abdallah Linos is 31 years old and works as a teacher at the Oguruny Primary School in the village of Oguruny in South Sudan. He has been teaching at the school since 2010. The school has only six classes, P1-P6, with 408 pupils.
