Elayne Clift

Elayne Clift is an award-winning writer, author, and journalist whose work appears internationally. A recognized consultant in gender, health, and communications, her work has taken her to all regions of the world. She is Sr. Correspondent for the internationally-syndicated Women’s Feature Service and a regular columnist for the Keene (NH) Sentinel and the Brattleboro (Vt.) Commons. Currently, she teaches at several New England colleges and she was a visiting scholar at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2005 – 06. A Vermont Humanities Council Scholar, she lives in Saxtons River, Vt.

On World Water Day: Women, Water and Health

Elayne Clift

Her day begins before dawn. She walks over four miles on uneven paths to reach a hand-dug pit from which she fetches the day’s water supply for her family. The water is polluted by flies, feces and feeding animals. In the dry season the walk is often treacherous as steep-sided mud walls collapse, injuring the women and girls who come, sometimes twice a day, for precious water. By the time she returns home carrying a water jug on her head that weighs as much as a baby giraffe, she is exhausted.