The Police support Water Aid

An announcment from the WaterAid website:

Internationally renowned rock band The Police announced today that they will contribute a portion of the proceeds from their highly anticipated worldwide tour to WaterAid.

This will help generate much needed public awareness and raise funds to support WaterAid’s efforts to address the global water and sanitation crisis.

The Police made the following statement:

“In Western societies, the idea of not having clean and plentiful water is unthinkable. And yet there are millions of people who are suffering and dying from disease because they lack access to this most basic resource. We are proud to support WaterAid in their mission to improve access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene education in the world’s poorest countries. We hope the funds and awareness raised during the tour will help to shine a light on WaterAid’s efforts to bring help to millions of people in need.”

WaterAid, based in London, is supported by independent alliance members in the United States and Australia. It delivers water, sanitation and hygiene education through its offices in 17 African, Asian and Pacific nations.

Speaking on behalf of WaterAid, CEO Barbara Frost commented that “WaterAid is honored and delighted to receive the support of The Police during their forthcoming world tour. Our collaboration with The Police will help us deliver water, sanitation, and hygiene education to people living in extreme poverty and help raise awareness about this urgent humanitarian crisis.”

Happy Earth Day

On this earth day, take a few moments and think about the way you use water. Conservation is the easiest and most cost-effective way to reduce water use. Below are links to pages with valuable tips on how to save water.

Water Conservation Tips
Water: Use it Wisely
Water Information Program
Conserve Water
Earth 911

Every drop you save counts, and every one of us can make a difference!

Rain

Sorry for the recent lack of posts. It’s been crazy trying to keep up with school projects after returning from Qatar. When the semester ends in two weeks I’ll return to regular writing about water issues.

While in Qatar I was given a book called The Poetry of Arab Women edited by Nathalie Handal. It is a beautiful collection of writing and I’d like to share a poem by Dunya Mikhail from Iraq.

Rain

THE FIRST DROP

Whan the rain of God falls down
                                    please, my friend,
keep silent for a while
so that speech does not get wet!

SECOND DROP

Close to the Dead Sea
the greiving flute yawns
and the dead rise up from the sea.
I was dallying . . .
                 But behold!
Here are my good old dead,
                 rising!

THIRD DROP

-What is it?
             My heart?
                       Take it away
nothing throbs within it.
Yet, where shall the birds spend the night?

FOURTH DROP

A seagull gazes around
seeing millions of mirrors
millions of torn wings in the mirrors.

FIFTH DROP

Passages have my heart
passages that lead to doors
doors that lead to hallways
hallways that lead to windows
windows that lead to your heart.

SIXTH DROP

Within me is a heart
in the heart – walls
in the walls – cracks
in the cracks – dead wind.

SEVENTH DROP

The coffee is cold!
Friend, what shall I do?
There remains no space for me to jump in
no bird for me to drop down like a tear
no green except my heart.
The sunflower is not turning around this day
and language recognizes no pronouns but I.
My friend, what shall I do
now that the coffee is cold?

EIGHTH DROP

I have returned to you
but I have not brought with me
                    the blueness of my soul
                    nor the greeness of reproach
                    nor the blackness of dawn
                    nor the whiteness of drowsiness
therefore,
                    have I not returned to you?

NINTH DROP

By day
I visited your tomb, where the birds lay their eggs of memory.
By night
         I had a dream
in which I was the witness.

TENTH DROP

The evening is white
and the heart is an icy carnation.
The evening is white
       history is snow
            the eyes
                  Baghdad Observer
                        your hands
                             the appointment’s
                                                         snow.

The waiter came over
dropped two ice cubes in my glass
and I dropped my heart in the glass.
It is why the heart clamors for icy friends?

Happy Easter

Share your blessings with someone in need. Sending this Easter card will provide fresh water to someone in Africa for the next 15 years through Charity Water.