Jordan

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Hiba appears above planting seedlings with her friends. She speaks to a video camera about her life: "I am Hiba Abdulla. I'm ten years old and in the fifth grade. I go to a nearby school and started learning English last year. I live in Wadi Kattar in a small house with my family, which consists of my dad and mum, four brothers and three sisters, and my grandmother. I'm the fourth among my brothers and sisters. Our neighborhood is considered a poor area. I must tell you that Wadi in Arabic is equivalent to valley in English [or as arroyo to Americans]. Wadi Kattar, out of the name, used to have running streams for people to live on, but water has dried out, as almost all valleys in my country, as my teachers tell us. My father has a small shop, which people pronounce ‘supermarket; in Arabic. The shop is next to our house. He sells water in bottles to people in the neighborhood and to passers by, especially truck drivers who have to travel for long hours in the heat.

“My mother and grandmother work almost all day at home cooking, cleaning, and taking care of us. What is difficult for both of them is getting water from the water well in our backyard. My elder brothers and sisters assist in getting water out of the well in the summer months to water the little trees and plants in the backyard. Mum is very careful with water even in winter. She keeps telling us about the water problem in Jordan and how to conserve the little water we get in order to survive. Last year, Dad had to buy a water tank to put at the roof, like all houses in Jordan, to keep water running from taps throughout the week. In summer months, Dad had to buy water from big trucks to fill the roof tanks. I feel with Dad because he tells us he does not have much money for all that. What I like most is what my grandmother tells about how my village looked 50 years ago and how she learned to invent ways to conserve water, when water started to grow scarce in the recent years. My grandmother likes to help all our neighbors, too, with what she knows. She learned a lot from a lady who visits our neighborhood to explain about water conservation. We call the lady "Um Khalid" as everybody calls my grandmother Um Abdulla.

“Um Khalid manages a project just opposite our house for water conservation. She works at a women’s organization which cares about environment issues. She comes in person to assist people to apply methods for water conservation. That's why you see me in the picture planting seedlings in the organization's park. Um Khalid introduced many new methods to teach people how to conserve water. The new thing is the watering of trees by treated water. In the park, where I play with my friends, there is a solar-energy unit to use it for pumping water from a well. There is also an irrigation-by-dripping system in the green house. Um Khalid comes to our school to speak to the teachers and students in the high classes about water conservation. I like Um Khalid and her friends because they tell us how to manage with the little water we get. I must tell you that Um Khalid and her friends assisted in writing this story in English."

Environmental degradation, manifested through desertification and water shortage, affects the life of every Jordanian, especially women and children. At an early age, children assist in water conservation; they quickly learn to reach satisfaction with the least possible water available for drinking and hygiene. Children must forget about entertainment because water purchase constrains family budgets to such a great extent.

Although the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan shares its name with the River Jordan, the drying of the regions’ rivers and streams prevents the nation from enjoying much water from river resources. Hence, for water, Jordan principally depends on the 200 mm per year rainfall it receives. Jordan is among the world's ten countries that suffer most from water shortages. The water per capita share of a Jordanian is 176 cubic meters/year, as compared with the US’s per capita share at 1800 cubic meters/year. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the water scarcity level to be 1000 cubic meters/year per Jordanian. Jordan distributes running water on weekly shifts to different districts in almost all cities and towns. Residents of Jordan can only purchase drinking water in small, expensive bottles or as big bottles for coolers.

Environment degradation is on the rise in the Middle East because desertification has devastated many countries of the Sahara region. Water shortages in Jordan are expected to increase in the near future. The Jordanian government has petitioned for international aid and foreign investment to assist in overcoming this water crisis. NGOs in Jordan have demonstrated success at sustaining projects that install units to illustrate how to conserve water. Women NGOs have proved best in raising awareness and training housewives, students, and local communities on water conservation. Hopefully, international aid can collaborate with NGOs to improve the lives of children like Habi in the future.

Information courtesy of Liela Hamarneh