A woman from the tiny west African country of Gambia, carried 45 pounds of water at the Paris Marathon, recently held in France, to draw the attention of the world to an imminent water shortage in Gambia.
Spectators were completely surprised to see Siabatou Sanneh, carrying the water through the streets of Paris; which made her run entirely unique from the other runners in the race.
She wore traditional Gambian garb, carrying the 45 pounds of water on her head and seemed comfortable up to the point when her legs could no longer carry her.
Sanneh had never left her home country before her participation; her aim was to show the world the difficulties African women from across the continent, especially in rural areas, face when trying to access clean and portable water.
While she walked the race, she also wore a sign that said “In Africa, women travel this distance everyday to get potable water. Help us shorten the distance.”
Due to the distance of the marathon, she was unable to complete its entire length. According to her, she carried that symbolic water to save the future generation of the Gambia.
“It was too long and the container on my head was too heavy. I don’t want my children and their children to be collecting water from the well when they are my age,” she told reporters after the race.
She is a mother of four and lives in a small village of 300 people. She said she started carrying water when she was just five years old and that it has now become a routine practice for her two daughters as well.
“I wake up in the morning, and go and collect water from a well. I have to walk 8 km (5 miles) there and back. I do this three times a day at least. Each woman carries over 40 pounds of water on the return trip, wearing flip flops and often walking in extreme heat,” she said.
Water For Africa (WFA) -a charitable organization, supported Sanneh’s efforts. The organization is working to draw attention to the cause, which needs more boreholes with water pumps, rather than the hand-dug wells that are common in many parts of Africa. WFA estimates that 200 to 300 water pumps would supply the needs of the whole rural population in The Gambia.
Sanneh made a final appeal, saying that philanthropies and charitable organizations across the world should help her community get more boreholes, to help avoid water related diseases that are causing havoc in many parts of Africa.
“I want them to help us dig boreholes, a sustainable water source, but not only more holes, I want more sustainable ones too. That’s all we need,” she added.
WFA said they believe that it’s important to not only build clean water sources for communities deprived of water, but to also provide them with continuous support and training, to ensure that the boreholes dug remain viable for many years.
You remember that AnonHq posted a story last month about the possibility of the world running out of fresh water in the next few years? We also said that the people most likely to face this looming disaster, are people living in developing countries. That is what is happening.
With the help of charitable donations, WFA has been able to complete over 100 boreholes for communities in Africa to date. You can also help get fresh and clean water to people by clicking on this link and contributing the little you have. http://themarathonwalker.com/ Let’s work together to help the less privileged.
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