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Troubled Waters
Lake Victoria's waters have begun to fall dramatically in recent years. Climate change, hydroelectric dam projects and increasing pressure on its threatened resources have some environmentalists suggesting the lake may be destroyed within twenty years.
As featured on PBS's Foreign Exchange with Daljit Dhaliwal.
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East Africa Project Placements
Africa's Growing Water Crisis
A series of multimedia reports show how water stress across the horn of Africa is fueling conflict and threatening ancient ways of life.
Lake Victoria beset by environmental problems
As the morning sky lightens, the sound of machetes hacking through thick grass echoes along the lake's coastline. Fishermen, stripped to their underwear in the already stifling heat, are looking for silvery baby fish along the shoreline in defiance of laws against taking them in breeding grounds.
World Water Crisis
Water is the new oil. While western politicians and consumers fret over the declining economy and increasing oil prices, the news from East Africa is that with a growing majority of the world living on less than a dollar a day, the liquid that fuels bodies is becoming even more contentious than the liquid that fuels cars.
Rough Ride Home
It is Tuesday, March 5, at the break of dawn in Addis Ababa. The sleepy city stirs to life. Soon, residents of the city will be out and about in pursuit of their daily bread. I, too, must get up. I have a five-day road trip ahead of me. Against the advice of many Kenyans in Addis Ababa, I will be making the journey from Addis to Nairobi by road, through the border town of Moyale. The distance to be covered is more than 1,600 km.
Troubled Waters
As day breaks over the rusty tin roofs and makeshift homes of the sprawling Kibera slum in Nairobi, the water sellers are already at their water tanks, waiting for their first customers.
The Business of Water In An East African Shanty Town and Kibera: Not a Drop to Drink
As day breaks over the rusty tin roofs and makeshift homes of the sprawling Kibera slum in Nairobi, the water sellers are already at their water tanks, waiting for their first customers. Selling water in one of the world's largest slums is a good business. On most days the vendors charge 5 cents for five gallons, 100 times the cost of piped water provided by the city. But the city does not send water to the residents of Kibera--at any price.
World Water Crisis
Water is the new oil. While western politicians and consumers fret over the declining economy and increasing oil prices, the news from East Africa is that with a growing majority of the world living on less than a dollar a day, the liquid that fuels bodies is becoming even more contentious than the liquid that fuels cars.
Seattle: A River Runs Through it, But What a River it is
The Duwamish River is Seattle's industrial backbone, a source of much of the city's history, and one of the country's most contaminated chemical waste sites. Gary Thomsen, a high school history teacher who has devoted much of his career to studying the history of the river, says the now-polluted river valley once boasted "the most fertile soil in the world, second only to the Amazon River."
Battle for Resources Grows as Lake Victoria Shrinks
Africa's Lake Victoria, the world's largest tropical lake, is shrinking. As its waters subside, battles over the lake's resources increase.
The Disappearing Lake
Chala Ahmed had a dream. He wanted to build a waterfront home for his family on the shores of Lake Haramaya, in eastern Ethiopia. Now, that's impossible. The lake has dried up. Lakes around the world are shrinking. Some blame climate change. Others believe poor water mismanagement is the root of the problem. Whatever the cause, the shrinking water supply is affecting communities across the globe. Jessica Partnow reports from Ethiopia.
Why We Still Need To Write About African Poverty
One of the first pieces of advice I received before leaving on this reporting project was from an Ethiopian diplomat in the States who requested that I "not be a typical journalist" in my coverage of Africa.
What he meant was that he didn't want to see any more stories about African poverty in the news.
A treacherous trek to the crater's edge
"Just breathe," I comforted myself as I shuffled slowly through the dusty gravel. "One breath with each step," I repeated raggedly as 50 pounds of brackish water sloshed rhythmically against the sides of the muddy yellow jerrycan strapped to my back.
Museveni's dams a threat to Lake Victoria
As the first rays of sunlight streak into Lake Victoria, Idi Otwoma and his two sons leave their village, pick up their nets and board their old wooden boat for the port of Kisumu.
The sales from his catch put bread on the table for his family of two wives, eight children and nine grandchildren.
Kenya's Elephant Problem
Kenyan farmers are troubled by their newest neighbors -- elephants. A growing elephant population is destroying crops and creating violent confrontations. Jessica Partnow reports on a plan to reign in the pachyderms.
Being Typical
One of the first pieces of advice I received before leaving on this reporting project was from an Ethiopian diplomat in the States who requested that I "not be a typical journalist" in my coverage of Africa. What he meant, and what he went on to say more specifically, was that he didn't want to see any more stories about African poverty in the news.
"Why don't you write about positive things, like investment opportunities," he suggested cheerfully as we toasted with Ethiopian honey wine in his spacious suburban home.
Heading South: A Night Under the Stars
The word travel traces back to the Middle-English word travailen, meaning to journey, labor, strive and most importantly, to torment.
Much of traveling does feel a little like torment and as the strange bug bites, desperate trips to the bathroom and embarrassing cultural misunderstandings mount (who knew that blowing raspberries was one of the rudest things you can do in traditional Ethiopian culture?) I often wonder how I've found myself so far away from home.
Drought Is Spurring Resource Wars
On a warm January afternoon in southern Ethiopia, thousands of ill-tempered livestock stand in groups with the pastoralists who have guided them for dozens of miles to drink. The animals dot an expansive field of Acacia trees, severed bits and pieces of dead grass and dust.
Earlier in the day thousands of young goats, sheep and calves took turns to have their fill of water. And the show will not end with the cattle; camels are still waiting in line. For being the best able to resist drought, now they will be last.
Drought Spurs Resource Wars
On a warm January afternoon in southern Ethiopia, thousands of ill-tempered livestock stand in groups with the pastoralists who have guided them for dozens of miles to drink. The animals dot an expansive field of Acacia trees, severed bits and pieces of dead grass and dust.
Earlier in the day thousands of young goats, sheep and calves took turns to have their fill of water. And the show will not end with the cattle; camels are still waiting in line. For being the best able to resist drought, now they will be last.
Kenyans Tap Sun to Make Dirty Water Sparkle
In Kenya's massive shanty town of Kibera water is often unhealthy and far more expensive than in more affluent neighborhoods. An effort to put distribution and purification in the hands of local women is producing sparkling results.
Power Politics Trump Democracy in US-backed Ethiopia
Dawn in the Merkato breaks over a tangle of streets jammed with shouting hawkers and towering pyramids of ripe produce from Ethiopia's fertile countryside. Today it is a popular destination for sunburnt foreign tourists, expensive cameras poised to capture lively scenes from one of Africa's largest open-air markets.
Few of them, unloading from tour buses today, know that less then three years ago these bustling streets were stained with the blood of murdered citizens who had flooded into the center of Ethiopia's capital city to protest the contested re-election of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
Hollywood Star Mena Suvari Finds Special Home in Africa
Ernest Waititu's two-page spread with photos by Julia Marino in Kenya's Sunday Daily Nation features US actress Mena Suvari's role as a goodwill ambassador for AMREF, working to bring clean water and sanitation to Addis Ababa's Kechene slum. An online subscription is required to access this article.
The Water Walker
In many parts of the world, women and girls walk long distances or spend hours waiting in queues for water. Often, the water these "water walkers" draw isn't even clean. According to a 2006 United Nations report, diarrhea caused by contaminated water is the second largest cause of child mortality. More than 5,000 children die every day from easily treatable diarrhea. That's 5 times as many as HIV/AIDS. Jessica Partnow brings us this audio story about a day in the life of a water walker.
A warming world, overuse drain giant lake in a single generation
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Chala Ahmed, 26, hit the jackpot eight years ago when he won the U.S. visa lottery in the bustling eastern Ethiopian town of Haramaya.
Quenching the Thirst
It was early morning and a dozen Westerners, mostly Seattleites, were getting ready to leave the capital for a three-day visit to water-development projects in Oromia, one of this country's largest rural states.
A treacherous trek to the crater's edge
"Just breathe," I comforted myself as I shuffled slowly through the dusty gravel. "One breath with each step," I repeated raggedly as 50 pounds of brackish water sloshed rhythmically against the sides of the muddy yellow jerrycan strapped to my back.
Bringing Clean Water to Ethiopians
Photo gallery from The Common Language project's reporting on water issues in Ethiopia featured on seattlepi.com
Water Wars
World Water Day on March 22 reminds us of the 1 billion people on Earth who lack easy access to the water most of us take for granted. Global climate change is making that struggle worse, as we see in this report from the rugged region of southern Ethiopia, where drought is drying up wells, threatening an ancient way of life and fueling conflict.
The Death of A Lake
Girma Moges is angry. He was here in eastern Ethiopia four years ago when the pump he managed for a decade stopped forever. And he's still here now, just outside the ancient walled city of Harar.
Walking For Water
"Just breathe," I tell myself as I slowly shuffle up the dusty gravel path. "One breath with each step." I have a muddy yellow plastic can strapped to my back. It is filled with water and weighs 50 pounds, close to a third as much as I weigh. It is hard for me to walk, but I am trying to follow the cracked plastic sandals in front of me.
Water, Climate Change, and Conflict
World Water Day on March 22 reminds us of the 1 billion people on Earth who lack easy access to the water most of us take for granted. Global climate change is making that struggle worse, as we see in this report from the rugged region of southern Ethiopia, where drought is drying up wells, threatening an ancient way of life and fueling conflict.
Water Wars
World Water Day on March 22 reminds us of the 1 billion people on Earth who lack easy access to the water most of us take for granted. Global climate change is making that struggle worse, as we see in this report from the rugged region of southern Ethiopia, where drought is drying up wells, threatening an ancient way of life and fueling conflict.
The Water Walker
In many parts of the world, women and girls walk long distances or spend hours waiting in queues for water. For the World Vision Report, Jessica Partnow brings us this audio story about a day in the life of a water walker.