Deep in Columbia’s desert peninsula, in sweltering weather with no end in sight to the devastating drought, a woman drops a bucket into the murky depths of an open pit to get the little bit of muddy water at the bottom, which is all water that is available for all uses.
The region has been experiencing a crippling drought for the past three years, during which time crops have failed, goats have become too emaciated to either feed a family or be sold for a decent price at market; the woman collecting the water has lost one baby boy and fears losing her young daughter through lack of access to clean water and nourishment.
Over the past three years, many individuals, especially children, have lost their lives as a result of dehydration, malnutrition, or water-related illnesses caused by consuming polluted, stagnant, bacteria-contaminated water from the deep earthen wells. Mothers are so under-nourished that they are unable to produce milk to feed their infants, and fear for the lives of their offspring.
Many of the women in this region are forced to set out in the early morning or even during the night as they have to walk for many hours in the sweltering desert to fill their battered plastic containers with water from the closest potable wells. Those who can haul the water back on bicycles or burros, and the rest carry it. Often they cannot transport sufficient water to meet their families’ needs and have to resort to drinking contaminated water from one of Porciosa’s two pit wells.
As the weather turns more extreme and temperatures get even higher and sea levels rise even more, the crisis will get worse, and people will be forced from their homes. This will add even more to the current migration to Colombia‘s crowded cities, which will create problems there as the cities are already struggling to provide residents with sufficient drinking water and sanitation.
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