- Water is used for domestic purposes
- Water is used for agriculture development [irrigation]
- Water is used as a source of hydro-electric power
- Water is used for industrial development
- Water encourages the development of the fishing industry
- It encourages the development of the tourist industry
- Water is used for navigation i.e. it stimulates the development of transport and communication
- Water influences weather activities i.e. rain formation
- Water provides habitat for various living organisms
- There is a very close relationship between quality of life and water. An adequate and reliable water supply greatly improves the quality life of people. This is because they do not have to spend most of their time, income and effort searching for water. Availability of water means that family members are easily able to cook , clean themselves and do other family chores.
- Also the family size determines how much water is needed at a given time and how frequently available it should be. The larger the family the larger the amount of water, the smaller the family the lower consumption of water.
- Where the water is not piped and frequently supplied for example in rural areas, family members especially girls and women spend most of their time and effort looking for water. In some other communities, girls are not allowed to go to school since they are required to fetch water and ensure that it is available for the whole family.
- In case of a smaller family, they are able to use stored water over a long period in case the frequency of water supply is low. Therefore, under conditions of low water supply, a small family is more likely to experience water shortage problem than a large family.
Relationship between Vegetation and water supply.
- Vegetation play a very crucial role in ensuring a continuous water supply. Presence of places with dense forests and other forms of vegetation act as water catchments. This means that they retain water by preventing it from easily washing away or rapidly evaporating.
- Places with abundant vegetation therefore have higher chances of experiencing a reliable water supply than places that have little or no vegetation. Indeed, the lack of vegetation may lead to desertification and consequently very little or no water availability.
- It is also important to note that vegetation cannot exist if there is lack of water. Even desert vegetation requires water, though in small amounts for it to exist. The more available water is the denser and healthier the vegetation will be. Where there is little water available the vegetation is sparse.
- Vegetation and water supply are therefore highly related and dependent on each other.
How long distance to water sources affects the girl child.
- In rural areas, family members especially girls and women spend most of their time looking for water. In Tanzania, most rural communities the task of fetching water is placed on women and girls.
It is the girls who have to do this as the women are engaged in other domestic duties or family chores such as taking care of babies and cooking.
The distance between the home and the water source affects the girl child in the following ways;-
(i) When the distance is long, it means that the girls have to walk the long distance to fetch the water. By walking the long distance they get tired, they may get attacked/molested along the way and in some cases, there is a little time left for activity such as learning or playing. For those who are lucky to go to school, they tend to be too tired to pay much attention in class hence, poor performance. But for those who are not lucky enough to go to school are condemned illiteracy.
All of these may turn into early marriages or teenage pregnancies and some of them tend to experience psychological problems in their childhood as well as in their adulthood due to lack of time to play, robs them of a happy and balance childhood.
(ii) On the other hand, if the distance from the home to the water source is short, then the girls spend less time in fetching water and hence they have more time to play and to go to school, thus they will be able to pay attention in the class and do well in their studies.
(iii) In addition, children who are consistently exposed to hazardous, unportable water or exposed to pumps or water source that have been contaminated by water-bone bacteria, contracting diseases such as cholera and they are often affected by life threatening diarrhea from parasites in unclean water.
No comments:
Post a Comment