Empowered by Water

by Kristopher Coulston Illness and family emergencies are typically the cause for school absence in developed countries. Unfortunately, this is not the situation in drought-stricken countries, such as Niger. Water is scarce and girls spend hours walking miles just to satisfy their desperate need for it, even if the water sources they are gathering from… Read more »

A Universal Sound

by Shelton Owen Hope. Fear. Joy. Pain. These emotions have no borders or bias, no specific target or scope. Every race, gender, culture, and religious group is familiar with these essential human emotions. How enlightening is it to realize that we are all connected, each one of us at the mercy of our innate emotional… Read more »

Grocery Day

by Jennifer Dees You know when you get home from the grocery store, and you realize that if you put five bags on each arm, you won’t have to make another trip? And then you struggle with the doorknob because you somehow always forget there’s a door? And when you finally drop it all onto… Read more »

Bringing Clean Water to Niger

by Michelle Wolf It’s difficult to imagine living a life without clean water. In First World countries, clean water is a basic need that is accessible and taken for granted. Clean water is an assumed right. Cities are held accountable for collecting and filtering water before that water enters homes. In places like Niger, clean,… Read more »

Culture of Health

by Emily Johnson Growing up, I was a small child. Healthy-looking to any passerby, I was active, hyper, wide-eyed, and smiley but again, noticeably, even exaggeratedly, smaller than other kids. I was short and scrawny, with knobby arms and legs. I ate a lot during childhood, anything in arm’s reach— vegetables, red meats, starches, fruits,… Read more »

Water, Taken for Granted

by Rita Brhel I live in the middle of America’s heartland — Nebraska — surrounded by a sea of corn and soybean fields, most of which are irrigated for the entire growing season. Even the crops that aren’t irrigated still yield enough to provide the farmer with ample income to live on. I live atop… Read more »

Monthly

by Michelle Wolf It happens every month and every month I forget to grab a few tampons from under the bathroom sink. Thankfully, there is a gold basket in the ladies’ room at work with a few sample packs for me to use. And I can always find an ample supply of tampons in one… Read more »

Accessing the Available

by Emily Johnson You wake up to sun through your bedroom window, realizing the room is warm, even hot. Your legs feel sticky from sweat. Your eyes are sticky, too, from sleep. It feels as though the ceiling fan only pushes heat around in circles. To the AC panel you go. You squint, fidget with… Read more »

This One’s For the Girls

by Shelton Owen   On March 8th, women around the world celebrated their femininity on International Women’s Day. The special day, observed since the early 1900s, is about recognizing the progress achieved while looking ahead to opportunities of advancement. Women have made great strides in the past century, socially, politically, and economically, but the battle… Read more »

The Demand for Clean Water

West Africa has no doubt has faced some hardships obtaining water to keep their children alive as well as their families. But other parts of the continent is also facing a water crisis: South Africa.