"In Sikasso region, a typical day in the life of a villager would consist of the woman getting up before the men and retrieving water for the men and children, and also preparing breakfast for the family. In Malian culture, it is women's work to get the water (taboo if a man does it), clean the house, prepare the food and watch the children," she said. Children might also collect water, but Cannon said "men's role consists of providing money to support the family." She said women may walk more than half a mile or rise at 3 a.m. to fetch water for their families if their wells run dry, typically collecting water in buckets placed atop their heads for the walk home. Water may also be stored in barrels and transported on donkey-led carts. In February 2008, a committee of villagers began discussing the need for a year-round water source and possible solutions. An application will be submitted to the water company and materials purchased after villagers raise their 25 percent portion of the project's $3,441 cost, Cannon said. About 197 feet of pipe will be connected to the main water line, providing a faucet for the village. Hopefully, the faucet will be installed in early March before the hot season. Cannon estimates about 200 villagers will use the faucet.
Kati Cannon was asked in December 2007 to help Malian villagers develop a reliable source of year-round water
SC graduate on a quest for water in Mali
By KIM KIMZEY - (Spartanburg) Herald Journal
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Villagers in the African country of Mali may no longer have to trek for water when their wells dry up, thanks in part to Katie Cannon.
The 2003 Dorman High School graduate and daughter of Spartanburg residents Bill and Cecilia Cannon is a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali. Cannon was asked in December 2007 to help Malian villagers develop a reliable source of year-round water.
Recurring droughts, deforestation and "inadequate supplies of potable water" are among Mali's challenges, according to the Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook.
Cannon has served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali for about a year and a half and lives in the city of Sikasso.
"In Sikasso region, a typical day in the life of a villager would consist of the woman getting up before the men and retrieving water for the men and children, and also preparing breakfast for the family. In Malian culture, it is women's work to get the water (taboo if a man does it), clean the house, prepare the food and watch the children," she said.
Children might also collect water, but Cannon said "men's role consists of providing money to support the family."
She said women may walk more than half a mile or rise at 3 a.m. to fetch water for their families if their wells run dry, typically collecting water in buckets placed atop their heads for the walk home. Water may also be stored in barrels and transported on donkey-led carts.
In February 2008, a committee of villagers began discussing the need for a year-round water source and possible solutions.
An application will be submitted to the water company and materials purchased after villagers raise their 25 percent portion of the project's $3,441 cost, Cannon said.
About 197 feet of pipe will be connected to the main water line, providing a faucet for the village. Hopefully, the faucet will be installed in early March before the hot season.
Cannon estimates about 200 villagers will use the faucet.
Local residents and people around the United States have donated to the cause. Their contributions enabled Cannon to meet her goal of raising $962 for the project.
"I do not personally know everyone who contributed, but it is really cool that strangers thought this project is important and wanted to contribute," Cannon said.
Cannon's parents and brother, Will, visited her in Mali over the Christmas holidays.
"I am most proud that Katie is volunteering to spend two years of her life trying to help very poor people," Cannon's mother, Cecilia, wrote in an e-mail. "Watching her interact with the people in Mali, I was very proud of her ability to bridge the divide between the two cultures and the greatly different economic status and bring smiles. She is a great personal ambassador for the U.S."
Will, a Clemson University freshman, also is proud of his sister.
"I'm proud of her for stepping out of her box of normalcy and going out on a limb, because it takes some courage to hop on a plane to live in an entirely different part of the world for two years," he said.
Cannon's service in Mali has impacted her in many ways.
"I can eat rice seven days in a row and be thankful that I have food," Cannon said. "It's humbling knowing that you sound like a 5-year-old and yet people still listen without criticism. I can sit for hours (and laugh about it) waiting on a bus that is coming 'right away.'"
