– Jessica Marston
***The writer is enrolled in Comm 240 News Reporting.***
Are you strong enough to carry water?
Between 50 and 75 people recently experienced on the Fort Hays State University Quad what many African and Asian women and children have to go through to obtain the minimum amount of water needed to survive.
Students in the Global Environmental Issues Class sponsored the two-day event, “Are You Strong Enough to Carry Water?” on April 21-22.
“In the class we look at the factors that lead to the world’s environmental issues,” said Greg Farley, professor of biological sciences. “Half of the class are international students. This is really good because it is important to understand that we all look at the world through different lenses. Someone from Saudi Arabia or China will view the world differently than someone from the United States.”
The event aimed to raise awareness of the lack of potable water—water that is safe to drink–available in developing countries.
“People easily take water for granted,” said Amber (Honig) Lane, Onaga senior. “This event is a creative but powerful way to remind people how nice it is to have potable water.”
Participants carried five-gallon water jugs, representing the amount of water people in developing countries carry on a daily basis, from the Memorial Union to Picken Hall — a distance of 0.2 miles — up the steps and back.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates the average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day.
“Women and Children spend around 40 hours a year hauling water in order to survive,” Lane said. “As Americans, each person uses 80 to 100 gallons of water a day.”
The World Water Organization reports that at least 1 billion people must walk three or more hours to obtain drinking water, and some can walk up to 10 hours to collect water before spending hours boiling it to make it drinkable.
“I was originally hesitant about water as a topic,” Farley said. “It is a topic that is brought up every year, but what this group did was, instead of just telling us about the problem, they are having us experience the problem.
“When you think about it, a gallon of water is about eight pounds, and if you knew that you had to walk two miles to get that water, you would be figuring out how to conserve.”
“In the end we all come out better informed,” Farley said. “I learn from my students just as much as they learn from each other and me.”
“I have learned how much water we use on a regular basis and how easy it is to conserve even a few gallons of water a day,” Lane said.
“Are You Strong Enough to Carry Water?” coincided with the Global Leadership Project’s Earth Day events.