Dine' (Navajo)-Hopi Covid-19 Water Crisis
Tax deductible
Tó Be' Hozohni (Water Makes Beautiful)
SO MUCH HAS BEEN DONE AND AN EXCITING NEW PROJECT IS UNDERWAY!
With your help , in the past 8 months we provided portable sinks to 90 families, 50-275 gallon water storage tanks, 100-55 gallon water barrels, hundreds of masks, bought two trailers to haul water, and supported volunteer drivers with gas money and tires.
The relationship between The Forgotten People and the Water Resources Action project has grown and we're working on an exciting project to test an innovative rain water harvesting system to provide safe drinking on the Navajo Nation. The system was designed by Amir Yechieli, an internationally recognized Israeli expert on rainwater harvesting, and is used in many locations in the Middle East, Africa and Central America.
Mr. Yechieli is loaning the Forgotten People five of his specially designed tanks for the pilot project. Your donation will help us transport the tanks from their current location in Illinois to test sites on the Navajo Nation and purchase the necessary installation materials. Learn more about Amir’s system here .
THE PROBLEM
Thousands of Dine’ (Navajo) and Hopi households depend on hauling water from distant wells, including Rena Babbit-Lane a 99 year old master weaver who her story below. Lack of water is even more critical during the Covid-19 pandemic, when tribal communities are being impacted at one of the highest rates in the nation. This project will focus on the emergency water needs of families in several Dine’ and Hopi communities in Arizona and serve as a pilot project to serve other tribal communities that haul water.
The Forgotten People, with the support of The Water Resources Water Project, is helping meet this need. https://forgottennavajopeople.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/gofundme.pdf&hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forgotten People Photo Essay !
MY STORY - BY RENA BABBIT- LANE
I was born on 10/30/1922 on Black Mesa. I am traditional Dine’ (Navajo). I speak Navajo and do not speak, read or write English. I never went to school. I started to learn how to weave when I was 6 years old. I learned by watching my mother and grandmother and imitating their designs. I also asked a lot of questions. I began giving my mother rugs to sell when I was 6 years old. I never went to the store. I stayed at home to do chores. The rugs took me time to weave. As I got older, I improved my skills.
There were no stores like we have these days. We traveled on horse and wagons. We had trading posts that were far away and we traded for what we needed. We did not get paid in cash for rugs. We got food and other items. We lived in sheep camps and set up loom stands under the trees that we made with any kind of branch or cedar post even though it was crooked. When we finished our rugs we moved somewhere else and was always working on rugs and herding sheep.
In the Spring time we sheared our sheep. Before I weave a rug, I know how much I need to card, spin and dye. Then, when I get enough wool I am ready to weave and I start weaving in any season. Weaving is my life. I enjoy weaving, using traditional designs and creating my own designs. My daughters Zena and Mary both weave. We support ourselves through our weavings.
We used to have a big herd, about 300-400 sheep. We had a lot of grazing and a lot of rain. Now we only have a few sheep and the ground is dry. There is no rain. We live on top of the Mesa along the route of Peabody Coal Company Black Mesa pipeline. They took over 40 billion gallons of our only source of drinking water to carry coal to light up Las Vegas. Our surface springs have run dry and we have to travel 25 miles each way to get water. Sometimes our truck breaks down due to the rough steep dirt roads. We need water to survive. That is why we say Tó éí ííná át'é, Water is life.
Water Hauler with Truck-mounted, 275 Gallon Water Container
GOALS AND CHALLENGES
The Forgotten People identified high priority needs to help households that rely on hauled water, including two water hauling systems (tanks plus trailers) to bring safe drinking water to homes in the pilot project area , home water treatment systems, home hand-washing stations, and protective equipment and sanitizer.
Many water sources are contaminated from mines and natural sources. Because of long travel distances on rough roads to regulated wells, community members often use unregulated wells nearest to their homes. Some families aren't aware of the dangers.
Even when the well water is safe, the containers used to transport it or to store the water at homes have often been contaminated themselves; water is also frequently contaminated when it's transferred from outside barrels into homes.
Home Hand-Washing Station
Many water sources are contaminated from mines and natural sources. Because of long travel distances on rough roads to regulated wells, community members often use unregulated wells nearest to their homes. Some families aren't aware of the dangers.
Even when the well water is safe, the containers used to transport it or to store the water at homes have often been contaminated themselves; water is also frequently contaminated when it's transferred from outside barrels into homes.
A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP
The Forgotten People (a grassroots organization based in the Navajo Nation in Arizona) and The Water Resources Action Project (WRAP), a 501c3 nonprofit, have created a unique partnership to address this pressing need. WRAP provides water-related, cross-cultural activities for Arabic and Hebrew speaking students in the Middle East.
In addition to fundraising, cross-cultural student groups will work together to develop longer-term solutions to water issues for the two communities, such as water harvesting and water testing.
Funds raised over $10,000 will be used to:
1) Bring safe water to more families. (Costs: hand washing stations - $40 - $125 (depending on individual home needs), water testing for one home (Arsenic, E-coli, Uranium)-$50, 2- bucket home, water ceramic filter system - $50)
2) Create a fuel and maintenance fund to support the community volunteer water carriers. The water haulers spend about $400/month on gas. Learn about the community volunteers using their own resources to help those in need
3) Provide water-focused environmental education programming for Navajo and Hopi mid-schools through the Water Resources Action Project.
SO MUCH HAS BEEN DONE AND AN EXCITING NEW PROJECT IS UNDERWAY!
With your help , in the past 8 months we provided portable sinks to 90 families, 50-275 gallon water storage tanks, 100-55 gallon water barrels, hundreds of masks, bought two trailers to haul water, and supported volunteer drivers with gas money and tires.
The relationship between The Forgotten People and the Water Resources Action project has grown and we're working on an exciting project to test an innovative rain water harvesting system to provide safe drinking on the Navajo Nation. The system was designed by Amir Yechieli, an internationally recognized Israeli expert on rainwater harvesting, and is used in many locations in the Middle East, Africa and Central America.
Mr. Yechieli is loaning the Forgotten People five of his specially designed tanks for the pilot project. Your donation will help us transport the tanks from their current location in Illinois to test sites on the Navajo Nation and purchase the necessary installation materials. Learn more about Amir’s system here .
THE PROBLEM
Thousands of Dine’ (Navajo) and Hopi households depend on hauling water from distant wells, including Rena Babbit-Lane a 99 year old master weaver who her story below. Lack of water is even more critical during the Covid-19 pandemic, when tribal communities are being impacted at one of the highest rates in the nation. This project will focus on the emergency water needs of families in several Dine’ and Hopi communities in Arizona and serve as a pilot project to serve other tribal communities that haul water.
The Forgotten People, with the support of The Water Resources Water Project, is helping meet this need. https://forgottennavajopeople.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/gofundme.pdf&hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forgotten People Photo Essay !
MY STORY - BY RENA BABBIT- LANE
I was born on 10/30/1922 on Black Mesa. I am traditional Dine’ (Navajo). I speak Navajo and do not speak, read or write English. I never went to school. I started to learn how to weave when I was 6 years old. I learned by watching my mother and grandmother and imitating their designs. I also asked a lot of questions. I began giving my mother rugs to sell when I was 6 years old. I never went to the store. I stayed at home to do chores. The rugs took me time to weave. As I got older, I improved my skills.
There were no stores like we have these days. We traveled on horse and wagons. We had trading posts that were far away and we traded for what we needed. We did not get paid in cash for rugs. We got food and other items. We lived in sheep camps and set up loom stands under the trees that we made with any kind of branch or cedar post even though it was crooked. When we finished our rugs we moved somewhere else and was always working on rugs and herding sheep.
In the Spring time we sheared our sheep. Before I weave a rug, I know how much I need to card, spin and dye. Then, when I get enough wool I am ready to weave and I start weaving in any season. Weaving is my life. I enjoy weaving, using traditional designs and creating my own designs. My daughters Zena and Mary both weave. We support ourselves through our weavings.
We used to have a big herd, about 300-400 sheep. We had a lot of grazing and a lot of rain. Now we only have a few sheep and the ground is dry. There is no rain. We live on top of the Mesa along the route of Peabody Coal Company Black Mesa pipeline. They took over 40 billion gallons of our only source of drinking water to carry coal to light up Las Vegas. Our surface springs have run dry and we have to travel 25 miles each way to get water. Sometimes our truck breaks down due to the rough steep dirt roads. We need water to survive. That is why we say Tó éí ííná át'é, Water is life.
Water Hauler with Truck-mounted, 275 Gallon Water ContainerGOALS AND CHALLENGES
The Forgotten People identified high priority needs to help households that rely on hauled water, including two water hauling systems (tanks plus trailers) to bring safe drinking water to homes in the pilot project area , home water treatment systems, home hand-washing stations, and protective equipment and sanitizer.
Many water sources are contaminated from mines and natural sources. Because of long travel distances on rough roads to regulated wells, community members often use unregulated wells nearest to their homes. Some families aren't aware of the dangers.
Even when the well water is safe, the containers used to transport it or to store the water at homes have often been contaminated themselves; water is also frequently contaminated when it's transferred from outside barrels into homes.
Home Hand-Washing StationMany water sources are contaminated from mines and natural sources. Because of long travel distances on rough roads to regulated wells, community members often use unregulated wells nearest to their homes. Some families aren't aware of the dangers.
Even when the well water is safe, the containers used to transport it or to store the water at homes have often been contaminated themselves; water is also frequently contaminated when it's transferred from outside barrels into homes.
A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP
The Forgotten People (a grassroots organization based in the Navajo Nation in Arizona) and The Water Resources Action Project (WRAP), a 501c3 nonprofit, have created a unique partnership to address this pressing need. WRAP provides water-related, cross-cultural activities for Arabic and Hebrew speaking students in the Middle East.
In addition to fundraising, cross-cultural student groups will work together to develop longer-term solutions to water issues for the two communities, such as water harvesting and water testing.
Funds raised over $10,000 will be used to:
1) Bring safe water to more families. (Costs: hand washing stations - $40 - $125 (depending on individual home needs), water testing for one home (Arsenic, E-coli, Uranium)-$50, 2- bucket home, water ceramic filter system - $50)
2) Create a fuel and maintenance fund to support the community volunteer water carriers. The water haulers spend about $400/month on gas. Learn about the community volunteers using their own resources to help those in need
3) Provide water-focused environmental education programming for Navajo and Hopi mid-schools through the Water Resources Action Project.
Organizer
Leora Siegel
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC
Water Resources Action Project, Inc.
Beneficiary