World Water Day
Praise Water, Praise Woman
Woman Vanuatu is the rain
That falls on the crops
Which feed the home
Woman Vanuatu is the river
That runs through villages
Used to wash and cook
Woman Vanuatu is the ocean
That connects the islands
Which define Ni-Vanuatu culture
And unite the people
Like water,
We assume that Woman Vanuatu will always give
Even when we take too much from her spring
And dry her rivers and pollute her seas
Like water,
We expect Woman Vanuatu to flow,
To heal, to nourish,
To run from the tap,
And to be available whenever we need
Like water,
We do not realize her worth
Until she is no longer there.
Without water
Without woman
How can we sustain life?
Praise water
Praise woman
Who carry the power of life.
Selection of poetry from the collection Art Blong Mi, Heart Blong Mi by Yasmine Bjornum, featuring at Alliance de Francaise for International Women’s Day 2018.
This poem was inspired after I met a woman in North Tanna who would walk several kilometers everyday with her toddler and infant to collect water. She only had enough to wash her children before using the same water to wash herself. The little that was left was used for cooking. With limited access to water, women face hardships that are disproportionate to men and these experiences are often associated with socially constructed gender roles. As Vanuatu faces the impacts of climate change, we need to ensure that gender is integrated into policies and programming to address these inequalities – YB.
