Managing Water

by Heather Cameron, Rosso, Mauritania

Sonelec, the utility company of Mauritania, manages Rosso's water. In the family, it is the women who must collect, store, and ration the water. My host moms (I have two because of polygamy) are always yelling at the kids not to waste any. Farmers along the river use canals, water pumps, and watering cans, depending on the size of their plot.

by Kerry Zahn, Paris, Mauritania

In Garalla the women and girls are in charge of managing water supplies. Women and girls go to the well each day to pull water for drinking, bathing, washing clothes, and cooking. Once at home, it is the women who filter the water and do the cooking.