I’ve always had easy access to water. I don’t think it’s something I take for granted, but since I’ve never done without, there’s no way I can truly appreciate how difficult it would be to live without it. I became convinced of this after reading The Worth Of Water by Gary White and Matt Damon. Though I’ve read about issues surrounding water accessibility and the effects of climate change, I learned a lot by reading this book. (I have never been truly thirsty [the 3 stages of dehydration are described on page 20. I’ve only ever experienced stage 1]). I knew that, in certain countries/cultures, it’s primarily “women’s work” to gather water, but I didn’t know about “water wives.” As discussed in The Worth of Water, there are areas that have so little access to water that men marry multiple women and those women are responsible for collecting water for the family. They spend their days hauling water, which of course, leads to injuries and steals the time that they could spend working. The Worth Of Water points out that when these areas receive the necessary infrastructure for easier access to water, water remains “women’s work,” so women make up the boards that operate and tend to these pumps, automatically making them extremely valuable in their community. 

Microloans versus Charitable Giving

Before reading this book, I presumed that charity would be the only way to fix this issue, but this book makes a compelling case that — except for the most desperate of the destitute — the Water Credit initiative is a much more viable option because microloans that charge a fair interest rate allows capital to flow much like water, as that same sum can be borrowed and repaid again and again, instead of money that is given once through charitable giving. 

This cause is extremely important, and though I am not a scientist, the series that I am writing features scarcity of water as one of the major themes. Though it is a work of fiction, I envision a future where I can offer my volunteer efforts and financial donations to this pressing issue, so I need to learn more about this topic. I’ve added The Big Thirst (a book recommended in The Worth Of Water) to my TBR list, but that’s just the beginning. Please recommend your favourite books about water, water infrastructure, and books about policies surrounding natural resources because I’d like to learn more about this urgent issue. Thanks in advance for your recommendations!

*The beautiful photo used in this post belongs to — and is courtesy of — mrjn Photography on Unsplash.

**This post also appears on The Write Results.