Tag Archives: health

World Water Day: Let’s Unite for Clean Water

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Written in collaboration by Brooke Edwards and Maegan Clark

In 1992, the UN designated March 22 of each year as World Water Day. Although Heifer International’s focus is on ending hunger and poverty, clean water (for people and livestock) is absolutely essential for our project families and communities to thrive. In observance of this year’s World Water Day, we thought we would shine a light on how water plays an important part of our work all over the world and give you a few ways you can help bring safe drinking water to the world’s poor.

In many of our project communities, the lack of access to clean potable water is one of the most critical challenges. Many communities depend on unsafe water from unprotected shallow wells or rivers. Lack of access to water is a threat to the livelihood of a community in many ways. Inadequate access to water negatively affects the productivity of livestock and crops, and unsafe drinking water is a health hazard to both communities and animals. It is primarily the responsibility of women and girls to fetch water for household and animal use, often walking long distances in harsh conditions. Water scarcity is believed, for this reason, to affect the enrollment rates as well as educational performance of girls.


(Please note that there is no audio due to the high winds.Video by Geoff Oliver Bugbee)


In this video you’ll see Fatou Dione walking in oven-hot wind churning with dust to fetch water for her husband and four children. It’s the dry season in her village of Diarrere in Senegal, and both water and food are running low. At the time this video was shot, they were eagerly anticipating the rains the following month.


To address water scarcity in our project communities when needed, Heifer partners with organizations specializing in water projects to bring deep-water wells and pumps to the area. Consistent with our methodology of helping families and communities become more self-reliant, local people are trained to maintain the wells with locally available resources. And to ensure the sustainability of the boreholes, water management committees are established and trained.
Improved sanitation is also crucial for our projects. In Uganda, Heifer participants are using a clever hand-washing station called a Tippy Tap. It allows you to wash your hands without touching anything in the process. 
Tippy Tap System
Image from www.cdc.gov

These really make sense when running water isn’t available. Much better than a bucket, that’s for certain. We all know hand washing is a key way to stop the spread of many diseases. In a country like Uganda, which has a life expectancy of 52.98 years (yes, in large part a result of HIV/AIDS), avoiding disease like bacterial diarrhea is of the utmost importance.



The Tippy Tap is a cheap device made of locally available materials. It was initiated by Heifer Uganda at this farm and others as one way of ensuring that family members and their visitors wash their hands with soap each time they use the pit latrine. In so doing, the possibility of spreading disease is minimized.


So what can you do to help?

  1. Help fund our Building a Sustainable Way of Life Project in Peru, which will improve community wells to ensure the availability and quality of water in wet years and dry.
  2. Team up with US-based groups who are calling for increased commitments by the US government to help increase access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation for millions around the world.
  3. Find and attend an event near you.
  4. Visit a local restaurant participating this week in UNICEF’s Tap Project, and pay a $1 (or more!) donation for otherwise free tap water.

    For more information about World Water Day please visit http://www.worldwaterday.org/ and http://oneweekforwater.org/. 


Appropriate Technology Keeps Your Hands Clean

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I know I seem to keep harping on about biogas (and there’s more to come!), but that’s not the only form of appropriate technology we saw in Uganda. Here’s a clever hand-washing station on a farm we visited. It’s called a Tippy Tap, and it allows you to wash your hands without touching anything in the process.

We saw a couple of these on our trip, and they really make sense when running water isn’t available. Much better than a bucket, that’s for certain. We all know hand washing is a key way to stop the spread of many diseases. In a country like Uganda, which has a life expectancy of 52.98 years (yes, in large part a result of HIV/AIDS), avoiding disease like bacterial diarrhea is of the utmost importance.
Under Heifer Uganda’s holistic farmer training curriculum, families participate in a course on home hygiene. Farmers are trained to keep their homesteads clean and tidy and to ensure reasonable hygiene and sanitation. This practice goes on in many of Heifer’s projects worldwide.
The Tippy Tap is a local, cheap device that is affordable by all families. It was initiated by Heifer Uganda at this farm and others as one way of ensuring that family members and their visitors wash their hands with soap each time they use the pit latrine. In so doing, the possibility of spreading disease is minimized. The training and demonstration on how to make and use the Tippy Tap is done at one participant farmer’s home, and thereafter each participant goes back home and makes one for the family.
The water used is clean and safe, drawn from individual roof water tanks–simple water harvesting techniques introduced to families by Heifer Uganda. When available, community protected wells, communal boreholes, natural springs and sometimes piped water may be the family’s water source. The water sources, in most cases, are within walkable distances, and families ensure that the container has water in it at all times.

Wake Up!

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by WorldLink staff

How can we help our kids avoid the temptation of addictive junk food? In this clip from the Nourish Video Encyclopedia, pediatrician Nadine Burke explains how our junk food habit has contributed to an epidemic of obesity and diabetes.

Nourish is a national educational initiative designed to open a meaningful conversation about food and sustainability. With a distinctly positive vision, Nourish celebrates both food and community. Learn more at www.nourishlife.org.

Dr. Nadine Burke: Wake Up! from Nourish Life on Vimeo.

Dr. Nadine Burke is the Medical Director of the Bayview Child Health Center, where she oversees the operations of the health center and provides care to children and youth living in the Bayview-Hunters Point Community of San Francisco. She is also the Medical Director of Pediatric Health Parity Programs at California Pacific Medical Center.

Stay tuned for more selections from the Nourish Video Encyclopedia, a collection of short films that explore the story of our food.

Be part of the food revolution. Nourish yourself. Nourish the world.

Visit the Nourish website and Follow Nourish on Twitter.

Nourish is a program of WorldLink, a non-profit organization dedicated to education for sustainability. Heifer International is a sponsor of the Nourish initiative.

No Free Lunch

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by WorldLink staff


Do you think it’s worth paying more for food if it might mean paying less for health care? In this clip from the Nourish Video Encyclopedia, food journalist Michael Pollan discusses the relationship between cheap food and the rising cost of health care in America.


Nourish is a national educational initiative designed to open a meaningful conversation about food and sustainability. With a distinctly positive vision, Nourish celebrates both food and community. Learn more at www.nourishlife.org.







Michael Pollan is the author of In Defense of Food, Food Rules, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and other best-selling books. Pollan currently serves as the Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.


Stay tuned for more selections from the Nourish Video Encyclopedia, a collection of short films that explore the story of our food.


Be part of the food revolution. Nourish yourself. Nourish the world.


Visit the Nourish website and Follow Nourish on Twitter.

Nourish is a program of WorldLink, a non-profit organization dedicated to education for sustainability. Heifer International is a sponsor of the Nourish initiative.

A Quiz

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What animal kills more people than any other? If you’ve vacationed anywhere that requires those dizziness-inducing anti-malarials lately, you probably already know. Pesky mosquitoes are far more than just pesky. For the million people each year who succumb to malaria, they’re deadly.

Writer Constance Casey cozies up to the tiny assassins today in an article in Slate, where she offers the gloomy stat that most deaths from malaria occur in children under 5. But she’s also a mosquito apologist of sorts, pointing out that most mosquitoes don’t bite people, and the detestable bugs are an important part of the food chain. Good points, but I’ll still swat any potential bloodsuckers coming my way.

When traveling to areas where malaria strikes, I’m always struck by how nonchalant survivors of the disease can be. A friend in Senegal brushed off my worries about what could happen to him when the rainy season started up and the mosquitoes came out in full force. “Oh yeah, I’ve had malaria lots of times,” he told me, shrugging his shoulders like it was no big deal. I suppose that attitude makes sense considering that there’s a limit to how much people in malaria-endemic areas can do to keep themselves safe, and living in a perpetual state of panic isn’t going to help anything.

One problem is that poor people are far more vulnerable to malaria. Their houses often lack screens to keep the bugs out, and they’re far more likely to have to work outdoors where they’re vulnerable to bites. The poor are also less likely to seek treatment in time because visits to the hospital can be prohibitively expensive.

It’s frustrating to think that humans have been battling this tiny opponent for centuries and the victory is not yet ours. In the spirit of knowing your enemy, give Casey’s article a read.

Size Isn’t Everything

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Photo from flickr/~Duncan~. Creative Commons.

Eating your veggies may not be the cure-all it once was. That’s because today’s fruits and vegetables appear to have fewer nutrients than produce once had, according to an article from Prevention magazine and MSNBC.
“In 2004, Donald Davis, PhD, a former researcher with the Biochemical Institute at the University of Texas, Austin, led a team that analyzed 43 fruits and vegetables from 1950 to 1999 and reported reductions in vitamins, minerals, and protein. Using USDA data, he found that broccoli, for example, had 130 mg of calcium in 1950. Today, that number is only 48 mg. What’s going on?”

The theory is, modern agricultural techniques–reliance on synthietic fertilizer, breeding for traits like extreme size and early maturation–have left us with large but anemic vegetables.
“A different story is playing out with organic produce. ‘By avoiding synthetic fertilizers, organic farmers put more stress on plants, and when plants experience stress, they protect themselves by producing phytochemicals,’ explains Alyson Mitchell, PhD, a professor of nutrition science at the University of California, Davis.”

The article does include tips on getting the most nutrients from your vegetables, even if you can’t go organic–buy smaller veggies and bright colors, hit the farmers’ market, eat them when they’re fresh, and don’t overcook them.
Is this something you already suspected? If so, how do you ensure you’re eating the right veggies, not the wimpy ones?

Summer of Hunger

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Photo from flickr/HeyThereSpaceman. Creative Commons

What happens during the summer to all those students who rely on free or reduced school lunches? Many of them go hungry, according to a recent story from AOL News. It has always been a problem, but this year it looks to be especially bad.

“With the school year ending in communities across America, more than 16 million children face a summer of hunger.

“While classes were in session, they relied on free or discount cafeteria meals subsidized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But they will not be reached by the patchwork summer food programs financed by the USDA, which feed fewer than one in five of the total number of kids poor enough to qualify.”

The story goes on to chart summer meal participation rates by state and put forward new ideas for bridging the food security gap during the summer months.

Let’s hear some of your ideas for alleviating summer hunger for children in need.

Overcoming the Stigma of TB in Indonesia

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In addition to the physical side effects, contracting tuberculosis in Indonesia also means living with a social stigma, according to a story from IRIN News:

“When I was told I had TB, I felt ashamed,” Dini Kusumawadini, 28, who makes a living growing ornamental plants, told IRIN. “But after undergoing treatment, I wanted to share my experience and motivate people with TB so that they could recover.”

Tuberculosis is listed by the World Health Organization, along with malaria and AIDS, as one of the “three diseases of poverty.” To learn more about tuberculosis, check out the For the Record department (“TB or Not TB”) in the latest issue of World Ark magazine.