I love the picture at the top of this blog. In many places this many made water would be called a dam, perhaps a turkey's nest dam. In western New South Wales, people refer to them as tanks. Without these human-made water diversions and storages animals would not be able to survive, and human beings would not be able to rest a livelihood from an arid landscape.
Yet like everything in our not-quite-perfect world these water interventions can be problematic. Australia is only just beginning to devise a system of accounting for all our water...but some things, like this tank, for some reason best know to those devising the system will not be included. And as those of us who are Spirit-ed know, unless we tell the whole story - not just a part or a biassed perspective - we kind of meet ourselves coming back sooner or later, don't we.
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A little water and a little soap can make a huge difference in saving lives and helping us to ward off disease. I love the emphasis on the kids because we want them to grow up strong and resilient, don't we.
The first Global Handwashing Day was in 2008.
Our very own Wiggles wrote a special tune.
It is catchy and easy to teach to your kids.
And here is the video for 2010
Please value water.
It is our life.
Please support the human right to water and its understanding.
In Australia, water was unbundled from land
by a COAG Agreement in 1994.
This made water a tradeable commodity -
when once it was part of the Commons -
it belonged to all of us.
This definition of water rights comes from Wiserearth:
Definition: Water rights are the legal rights that define ownership of water and water sources (surface and subsurface), the use of water and the priority of water use. Water rights allocate water to different users and can be contentious in areas where water supplies are insufficient for the demands upon the supply, and where people are denied or deprived of access to water. The right to water is increasingly considered as a basic human right that has to be reconciled with legal water rights already in existence. Unfortunately, privatization and commodification of water often undermine this right by cutting off supply to those who cannot afford to pay.
Related reading:
If you go here, you will find books and other material
from Rous Water about water, including Aboriginal stories.
Rous Water is the regional water supply authority
providing potable water in bulk to the Council areas of
Lismore (excluding Nimbin), Ballina (excluding Wardell),
Byron (excluding Mullumbimby) and
Richmond Valley (excluding land to the west of Coraki).
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W
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