UNDP Report on Water

From the readings, I was struck by how much women and girls are disproportionately burdened by the challenges of water collection in developing countries. Many girls are even held back from school so they can collect water and help around the house. Other girls are held back from school because there is a lack of private toilets for them to use. The issue of clean water is also a gendered issue when school attendance of girls are being affected. Water is tied into so many other aspects of human life like health, food, and even education in this example.

The Youth Booklet presents the challenges of water and sanitation in an optimistic way. I am quite cyclical and am not convinced that by 2015, water and sanitation issues will be solved. I am very hopeful this will be the case, but I just don't see as many countries coming together and doing what they can to end such a solvable challenge.

WaterWear Backpack

This technology was developed as people realized how burdensome fetching water actually is for many people around the world. In addition to fetching water, keeping it clean and transporting it to their homes is a major challenge and this technology hopes to make this easier for people around the world.
The pros of this technology is the easily washable lining and the built in tap that keeps the water clean. It is also in the shape of a backpack so it is manageable to carry over uneven terrain. It is not as harmful to the neck and as carrying water on your head. The cons are that the backpack only carries 20 liters which is not enough for a whole family. Also some of the materials like the tap, and the woven polypropylene may increase the cost of production. It is arguable whether this technology is more efficient than some of the local products in use.

If I had 10 grand to devote to addressing water challenges around developing communities, I would not choose this technology.  The amount of water it carries is not sufficient and there is not adequate quantitative data supporting how effective this has been in the real world. I would also need more support on how the materials and cost of the backpack are acquired.