7 Forces Driving More
Arusha, Tanzania. My friend Ricardo made arrangements for four of us
to interview the court’s justices in person. For the better part of the day,
we listened while trying to comprehend why such acts were carried out.
By the time we left, we were emotionally spent.
Early the next morning, we arrived at a home on the outskirts of
Arusha. In this more humble and serene setting, we talked with a woman
whose mission was to improve the lives of other women. In addition
to traditional household chores of cooking and cleaning, she told us,
women shouldered the primary responsibility for cultivating crops and
herding livestock.
Their lives were filled with hard labor, and many endured constant
illness and hunger. They also suffered in silence from abuse—often
inflicted by loved ones. Few opportunities existed for basic education,
let alone upward advancement in society. As our host shared her per-
sonal experiences and those of others, we found ourselves once again
subdued in thought, struggling to make sense of continuing hardships
with no relief.
As the morning drew to a close and we prepared to leave, I asked
her this: if she could accomplish one thing, what would it be? I ex-
pected her response to circle back to an earlier topic. Perhaps greater
educational opportunities, more human rights awareness, targeted nu-
trition programs, easier access to basic health care, or micro-credit loans
for women. Instead, she paused for a long moment, looked at us, and
then said, “Make water more easily accessible.”
Her answer struck at the core of a universal need, one we had never
had to think about. In America, you turn on the tap and water flows out.
It hadn’t occurred to us that lack of water could surpass other more-
pressing problems.
From that moment on, as we resumed our journey in Tanzania’s rural
countryside, we were acutely aware of just how much women’s lives
revolved around water. From the moment they awoke until they lay
down to sleep, thoughts about how to manage water carefully were never
far away. Each new day was subsumed with finding, carrying (in vessels
precariously balanced on their heads), storing, and dispensing water—
not just for drinking and cooking but washing, nourishing plants, and
quenching the thirst of animals.