# data[].attributes.body
You whisper your dangerous words polluting me

I’m trapped in the cycle of water,

Sickness hits me like a wildfire, spreading far and wide

A sandbag holding back a tsunami,

I am a shadow of my full potential - all the thoughts of who or what I could have been -

dreaming of your cool, clean, love splashing back in my face.

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Daisy S. 7-5      Looking Through a Mirror

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Daisy S. 7-5      Looking Through a Mirror

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She’s drowning in nothing, an empty pit, fighting for something more.

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I have finished.

My work is done.

I take a sip.

As the water touches my lip,

I FEEL EQUIPPED.

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A world with a strenuous reality

You turn the tap and water drizzles out, you do not have to feel the blistering sand beneath your bare feet, abraded from the rocks you have to trample on each day. Women in areas of poverty have the burden of getting this water, its fecal contamination could eradicate their loved ones, but not getting it could result in pernicious dehydration. Even though women are the masters of water in their community, but they get neglected by the men and activists that try to help this enigma.

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They asked me to speak when all of my life I've been told to stay quiet.

What they don't know is how powerful silence can be.

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“Anya... and Many More”

Her name is Anya and she lives on a dirt path hardened by the many who walk it.

She is a female born into poverty who walks on a dirt road everyday for water,

She loves art and wishes to draw, but she has no education and will never get one.

She has five brothers who need water and an education (and sisters who will never get one)

She lives in a place where females are walking buckets who bring water to men everyday.

Her name is Anya and she lives on a dirt path hardened by the many who walk it.

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"No one looks"

I call for attention, I need people to see me, I need people to know what I do,

No one looks.

As I get water, my mind starts wandering, heading into new places and ideas,

Why don’t I get the same chance, I need an education for my life to advance.
I am a bird, that cannot fly, I need someone else’s wings to push me into the sky.

Yet, no one looks.

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“A Breath”

To a woman, water is a breath

Favoring a simple action not knowing it could be her last

As the body inhales agony, the body exhales hope

Heart beating as money is deflating from the lungs into the air as an insignificant material

So high up that she flies away to grasp nothing

Hoping to find peace in a land of fair play

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"Attached"

The pain she feels everyday,

When will this feeling wash away?

Splash, splash, splash.

She sacrifices education to bring water to her nation,

The nonstop pounding on her head-

Will it end?

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"My Sister Asha"

The water she worked for,

the water she walked for,

is the same water that took her

The water that took her from my mom

The water that took her from me

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“Sacrificing Power For Water”

Water defines me and yet it confines me

And my necessity will be the death of me

Walking for hours gives me no power

Wishing for school, yearning to be learning

Wasting my life, just because I’m a wife

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I’m spiraling into the rippling sky filled with a wall of stars. I bang against it and drift into sleep – I don’t wake up.

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Nala and her friends would do anything to sit in a classroom and learn, but their dreams have turned as hard and brittle as the ground they walk on to fetch their daily water. In underprivileged countries, women and girls are relied upon to collect 40 pounds of unclean water on their heads, often walking 6-8 hours a day. Deserving women are held back an education, continuing to walk for water, uneducated while walking and unsafe while drinking, although men continue to get educations.

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"Just Colorless Hope"

Walking, but sinking into the depths of darkness -

No light in sight.
Except for the scalding sun causing a drop of brackish water,
Ready to be gathered for walking.
As the sun strikes I don't see anything.
No education, no safety, no hope: just colorless hope.

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The placid brown water I drink drowns me in poverty

Because I am a girl

I will not go to school because I must fetch water, the sea of desire

I will not get a job because I didn’t go to school

I will be a housewife taking care of my family every waking moment

Give me the crystal blue water and save me

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Jacquie 7-4  "I Stood There, Watching It All" 

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Jacquie 7-4  "I Stood There, Watching It All" 

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A little girl stood silently in front of me

There was a tear slowly sliding down her skinny face

The tear dropped down to the dehydrated, dusty ground and she fell with it

Her curly cheerful hair lost it's bounce

I knew she didn't have an education or running water

And yet I just stood there, watching it all

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How a Lack of Water can Impact People’s Lives

In places where water is not easily-accessible, girls often go with their mothers to provide water for the family. Instead of going to school to get an education to try to stop this cycle of poverty, women often have to walk up to 6 hours a day to retrieve water. By reducing the distance between villages and water, girls are more likely to attend school and later on be able to produce water for their family without walking great distances.

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"To get a cup of water"

Hours spent in the scorching hot sun, like a brand on her back, to get water leaving no time for an education

Her wasted hours slipping through her fingers like sand in the wind, with it the possibility of getting a job

Sickness strikes because of dirty water, like a snake waiting till its prey is powerless against it,

Dragging with it two more jobs and thousands of missed opportunities

Under the cover of darkness she sneaks out, quiet as a mouse, looking for privacy due to the lack of toilet

But with the night sky comes another kind of darkness, the risk of being raped and abused

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Rachel Heyman 7-4 :  "A Storm of Lost Hope" 

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Rachel Heyman 7-4 :  "A Storm of Lost Hope" 

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Women are the umbrellas blocking the dirty reign of dehydration.

Balancing pounds of wet death upon their heads,

Each bone shatters from the scream of fatigue.

Women are rays, increasing the hope of others, while diminishing their own,

Concealed behind men, who like clouds, hamper the rays from overlooking poverty.

Women are the umbrellas blocking the dirty reign of dehydration.

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Imani is walking an endless amount of time in sweltering African heat, mid day, everyday, with a 40 pound jug of E. Coli filled water on her back. Her bones are turning into crushed garlic. Just for safety, survival and good health.

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"Substantial"

The weight was so burdensome, yet it raised her up immensely.

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Annabelle Terner 7-4: Understanding How Lucky We are to Have Clean Water 

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Annabelle Terner 7-4: Understanding How Lucky We are to Have Clean Water 

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You turn the tap and fresh, clean water flows out. While you are a part of the 75% of people who are able to do this, 25% of the world doesn’t have access to clean drinkable water. Women and girls are taken out of school to walk miles to bring back the exact opposite of what we receive, dirty, contaminated water.

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“The Dangerous Day to Day Lives of Invisible Women Doing Invisible Work”

In both second and third world countries, females are involuntarily sent into harsh conditions where they spend about 6 hours and travel long distances gathering unsanitary water while males are at work and school. Women and girls a part of the 22% of the world without clean water, waste their time collecting contaminated water that kills 1,500 kids under the age of 5 everyday. Simillary, females a part of the 33% of the world with no toilets are inclined to use the bathroom until dark where they risk themselves being abused by others, rather than going in public during the day.

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Some colors are invisible to the bare eye

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Wet, wonderful, weakening, wanted, water
Halcyon, helpful, healing, hazardous, hallucinatory
Flowers, fruit, food, fungus, famine
Crucial, cleansing, connecting, cumbersome, contaminated
Dynamic, desirable, despair, diarrhea, death
Wet, wonderful, weakening, wanted, water

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To us a water girl is someone that brings over the water to the football players at half time In Kenya their types of water girls are walking miles back and forth to gather water from lakes, rivers, etc. to provide for there families because in there community they don't have the money or technology to afford the types of appliances that we have today.

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Water is a creature, half angel, half devil

When the angel is present, it eats up poverty in villages like lions eating their prey after not eating for days, but when the devil is present, it eats up the people in the villages and leaves them to slowly decompose

When the angel is present, women and girls get educated, learn new things, become more knowledgeable, but when the devil is present, it scares women and girls’ knowledge away

When the angel is present, the world is full of life; greenery, animals, people, but if the devil took over, the world would be an empty, dry, vast land going on and on with miles and miles of nothing at all

When the angel is present, people are clean, shiny, fresh, but when the devil is present, people are dirty, dull, filthy

When the angel is present, spare time is taken for granted, but when the devil is present, spare time is a precious thing that many don’t have much of

People are made of angels, but if the devil were to take over, the angels might not be strong enough

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"Invisible Women"
Women are heard, but only through men.

Women are not seen, but the water they carry is life.

Women’s heads are aching, but their minds grasp all the information.

Women’s backs are breaking, yet they are constantly recycled.

Women have very little power. Very, very little power.

Women are heard, but only through men.

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Charlotte Q 7-4: "Why Water Should Never Be Taken For Granted"

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Charlotte Q 7-4: "Why Water Should Never Be Taken For Granted"

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Do you realize how lucky you are? You have water, clean water. You are more well off than more than 35% of the world’s population. How does that feel? Approximately 4100 children are dying a day because of waterborne diseases. That’s 1 child every 21 seconds, the amount of time it takes to fill your water bottle with clean, safe water. While you were taking a 20 minute shower, a young girl was raped because she, along 2.5 billion others, didn't have access to a toilet and was forced to go out at night to find a place to use the restroom. You can walk to the tap, and water will come out, but some women have to walk 6 miles a day just to get a jug of water for their families, you probably have to walk 30 feet.

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Everyday in developing countries, impoverished women and girls trek for hours toward water. Their families need this water for cleaning, cooking, and drinking, but the time wasted lugging water could be used for valuable education. Schooling provides girls with the skills needed to escape poverty, but without an education, they remain impoverished.

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Ava Cherniss 7.1 Sekula

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A global dream starts underground. Yet, this journey of thirst spins her like a merry-go-round.

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"I Walk for Water"

I walk for water, step after step, day after day;

traveling endlessly, the water crushing my head and my heart.

I walked for water, unable to learn and now I cannot earn a living.

We walk for water, but we are still invisible.

I walk for my salvation, yet towards my end

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“She provides”

She provides the story.

The pain of the enduring walk.

The sorrow of the shy resource.

The fear of using the restroom.

The emptiness of education

Twisted sharply, hard to reach, nestled deep in our roots, tucked between soft pebbles.

She provides the water

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Sydney Frank 7-2:    Our Worldwide Water Problem is Affecting More Than We Know  

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Sydney Frank 7-2:    Our Worldwide Water Problem is Affecting More Than We Know  

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In the world today, 25% of the world’s population does not have access to clean water. That’s about 1,750,000,000 people which is about 5 of the United States population combined, but the physical burden of getting water was found to fall primarily on women and girls. They make up 72% of the people who are tasked with fetching water that isn’t necessarily clean.

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"Africa Struggles to Provide Many People with Drinkable Water"

As I am trudging through the six hour journey to retrieve water, my toes start to tingle like pins and needles. The only thing I can think about as I am walking is all the knowledge I can be gaining in school. I could imagine the difference it could make for young girls like me in Africa to have a closer water source to gather water from.

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he may own the path yet i’m the one who treks it for our lives.

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“Endless”

There is no time to soak up the sun;

How shall I be bright?

The water is a trek away every day and night.

The buds all around me are growing into flowers,

And why am I still walking, endlessly for hours?

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"The Killing Smile"

Water, The decision maker to the growth of our society, one we don’t have a say over and may cause a lot of anxiety.

Can we stop this unsafe issue punishing the innocent and letting the hawks fly free.

It’s our job to educate the youth, don’t you agree?

We are killing our children with the source of life, but millions of people use it like a smile when it’s really a knife.

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"Water Fall"
One foot in front of the other she walks with pride, Ignoring the heat and the pain in her side.

Endless days of water yearning. When can she go back to learning?

Waiting in silence, a lamb to the slaughter, that’s who she is as an African Daughter.

Bruises and bumps all over her feet, wishing that she could admit defeat.

The bucket is heavy, as is her heart, and she's facing the journey.

It’s time now to start.

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"43 Percent"
43% of people on earth do not have access to clean water. In Africa, women make up 90% of the people that need to walk for up to 25% of one day, or 6 hours, to their water source. This crucial, time-consuming task keeps women and girls from school and an education, perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

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"Droplets of Rarity"

Soft but rough

clear but dirty

Drops of water slowly leaking

A canteen, half full
under the blistering sun

finally getting back

Exhausted
Hungry

Untaught

Water dripping
losing something so cherished

Unhurried

Untouched

Treat water as a diamond

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"Place Your Ears Upon My Tears"

She bears the weight on her shoulders, gradually wasting away.

They listen for a deep, silver voice -

One of knowledge,

Not one of experience.

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"I am not nothing"

You waste me like i am nothing

You treat me like i am nothing

Sooner or later you will drive, walk,and run miles and hours for me
Do you miss me yet?

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"The Messenger of Chance"

I am the messenger who flies through hell to bring life and death,

who suffers six hours of strife,

who carries 40 pounds on her head but also carries the infinite burden of guilt.

I am the messenger who brings the liquid of chance to those who can not come any closer,

who will never be taught, who will never learn,

who is invisible but needs to be seen.

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"Women, Water and Wealth: Do You Walk to Get Your Water?"

In some countries, there are poor communities and small villages where women are forced to embark on a daily trip to get water. Many women travel about four miles to get water each day, wasting time that could be used for school and work. Although women play important roles in gathering water, parenting, and even construction, they are seen as weaker and less important than men.

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No one warned me that you who saves lives,
is the reason behind my aching bones and fear of walking at night.

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I watch her back turn.

I watch as the clock ticks - every second,

For her,

Feels like a year.
I watch as her knowledge sits with herself.

I watch as she stumbles,

Water drops fall.

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"Saving Africa means Saving Women"
“According to the United Nations Infographic about women in Africa, “With the same access to productive resources as men, including water, women could increase yields on their farms by 20-30% and lift 150 million people out of hunger.” Women are like the soles on one’s shoes, constantly wearing themselves out for others while gaining nothing back. Communities in Tanzania, Africa, require women to complete many laborious tasks in the community, including tending to crops, as men are granted the opportunity to attend schools and learn a variety of trades. The culture beliefs of the Tanzanian people promote male dominance and consequently, poverty, while hindering Africa’s only hope of ending this everlasting battle against the lack of sanitation, food, and clean water.
*The pink words are a direct link. Click on them to view the infographic.

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"A Girl Like You"

Why do you trudge past your school every day?

Miles, miles, and miles in the screaming heat--

Just to rake your fingers through mud,

In search of something crystal clear yet veiled to the eye...
Why does a girl like you sacrifice her future for her brothers?

I am a girl, like you, but I can just turn on the faucet.

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"Water: A Necessity or A Lifestyle?"

In a small, underdeveloped village, just North of Kenya, the sun slowly wakes up from its sleep. A young girl is ready to start her journey. Not a journey of morality at the hospital, helping to prevent more deaths caused by contaminated water than the average of 50,000 a year, or a journey of information and knowledge at school, but a journey of survival 6 miles away to the nearest water source. As she looks back longingly at the swarm of kids lining up for class, she recalls that sadly, not a single one is female.

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She's gathering dirty gold, hoping for a cleaner tomorrow.

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The watery NO

“My feet hurt can Charlie come get the water instead” she whines for the twelfth time this week.

No he has to go to school.

Can I go to school?

No you have to get water. Understand?

“Oh, yes mommy” she says realizing she should save her breath for the long barren trek through the desert carrying dirty water that makes poison look like orange juice.

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A Difficult Journey

As the sun rises in Africa, a young woman is forced to leave the safety of her home and start a difficult journey of collecting water. After walking hour after hour and mile after mile, she finally reaches her water supply, lowers her container down, and watches as it fills with contaminated water.  Instead of getting an education and spending quality time with her family,she is forced to collect and carry gallons of unsanitary water that negatively impacts her family and eventually leads them further into poverty.

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"Even in 2018, Women Still Walk for Water"

Imagine a impoverished young girl in Kenya, trekking miles and miles, her feet aching, her head throbbing, and the sun beating on her for 6 hours, while she struggles to obtain a necessity that we often take for granted: water. Today, in 2018, women in developing countries still have trouble finding any water at all, with the small hope of it being clean. These girls risk their lives, and their futures, for water.

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"Just to get to you"

Everyday it takes hours just to get to you.

You took away my education.

People have lived because of you

People have died because of you.

My legs ache from carrying you all the way home

But i need you without you i couldn't live.

Even when when my pockets run dry.

-A girl on her walk for water

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Give Me Back My Voice!

Young women are told to act a certain way,

Yet they travel 6-7 miles for water every day.

They are told that they are weak and not strong:

Yet their oppresers do not see where they are wrong.

Women are held back and men are given the choice,

They still are trying to take away your voice.

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Could Bringing a Water Source Just 15 min Closer to a Village Help Break the Cycle of Poverty?

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Could Bringing a Water Source Just 15 min Closer to a Village Help Break the Cycle of Poverty?

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Eliza Tiles 7-3

As women in countries across Africa walk 6 hours just to fetch water to last them only one day, we in America dispense water at the snap of a finger. When these women are appointed the domestic work it limits their ability at an education. Lowering there chance of breaking the cycle of poverty.

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Women are like clothes, loved by the ones who need it or ignored and overlooked by the ones who have it.

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Golden Steps

My ragged skirt, blowing in the warmth of the sun’s whistle,

A cycle of work I cannot break.

The low ringing sound of a bell, merry jangling shouts.

Like a siren call of urgency as I walk past,

A reminder of where I cannot go,

But I will never be golden.

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Water That is Far Away Leads to Inequality

“In Africa, 90% of the work gathering wood and water is done by women” (“Water and Gender” unwater.org). Women and girls in countries without easily accessible water often have to walk for hours every day to get water for their families, causing the girls to get less education, jobs, money, and equality.

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The more I wash my hands, the dirtier they get.

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"From the Eyes of Water"
-a poem-

I feed you,  love you,  hold you,  breathe you
I break you,  shake you,  kill you,  tease you
Some carry me longingly, so much to lose
All day they work with me, scraped up and bruised,
Parched throats, cracked skin, no voice to be used
The rest of you speak for me, shielding the truth

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Lead in

As the morning starts women and kids around the continent of Africa set out traveling 3.7 miles to find clean water. What they don't know is that 43% of the water in their continent is contaminated. In Kenya, over 10,000 children die from diarrhea each year because of contaminated water. When there is no clean water, people don't take baths, children are dirty and don't wash their hands, this spreads diseases and outbreaks such as cholera.

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The ache in my weak feet scream with pain every moment I take a step forward,
The pounds of weight on my bruised head shoves me closer and closer to the scorching sand,
Emotions of hopelessness and pain run through my body as quick as lightning bolts,
But they still stand there…
They stand there doing nothing.

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Tiny Story by Sogna Louie

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Water is Vital
Although to most of us water seems like a resource and not a privilege, Water is not available to 1 out of 4 people. In some places in the world, like in towns in Africa, the source of water is not cleanly separated from the sewage system, they don't have the money to build this separation infrastructure. Women, who collect this water, have decided to fix this clean water crisis.

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"Death from water; kids from poor countries dying from contaminated water"

A girl named Maria, who was three years old, died from drinking the only water she had, which was contaminated. Everyday, 1,300 children die from drinking dirty water. In a year, we lose up to 500,000 children from diseases that exist in unfiltered water.

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Fires hastily spreading over the mountains over the seas. Spreading to the hungry youth of our community but, i will not let the poverty drown me. I will be that bird with two broken wings, held down by the sorrow things. As time ticks by we are losing pieces of our puzzles faster than the speed of light. But all we need is that light to shine bright on us. All we need is that drop of hope to coat our pallet.

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The Land Without Water

The land is dry, so the plants will die

As they crinkle up, antelope are left with hunger

When they fall the lions fall with them

Craving mouths, no meat on the table

Then the people turned into dinosaurs

As the asteroid hit of fatality, slowly becoming extinct

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Miles for water in a basin

young girls losing hours of education

Women trying to meet the expectations

Water retrieved could lead to depression

As the child shows their last expressionn

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"My home"

The sun heating,

Their sweat beading

Their thirst needing

To be quenched

Women journeying,

Men earning

Girls yearning

Boys learning

This is my home, my home sweet home.

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Water is an essential source for living, it’s what helps you stay alive and healthy. It is what helps us prepare food to eat and clean off dishes and other things around the household that need to be used again. Almost 59 million girls around the world are out of school just because the burden of collecting water is something that can take up to 8 hours of walking 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) a day.