Digging wells ...

Greetings,

May I please share a story about my experience?

… In my final years of High School my favourite subject was Geology. When I first (unsuccessfully) attended university I needed to justify making a choice to do what I liked in a world with so much need ... so how I worked this out was that I could use geological mapping skills in "underdeveloped" countries in Africa, and by conferring with the women in communities I could empower them by involving them in decision making and drill wells where their lives and their children’s lives would be improved by making water more accessible and children and women not being overburdened by so many hours of their day being consumed by this responsibility.

Well that was Plan A.... many years later after I had left my abusive former spouse I was driving in to ..... to give yet another domestic violence presentation (this time to medical students) and thinking about how I would communicate in their medical language of "signs", "symptoms", "diagnosis" and "treatment". I hoped to convince them of their important role and responsibility in early diagnosis and appropriate "treatment" of (response to) domestic violence and how this would not only improve the health and lives of women but also obviously their children - it suddenly came to me ... " Oh my God - Canada is the first ‘underdeveloped' country I am working in to empower and improve the lives of children and women!" (I do not think many Canadians would appreciate this story!). Of course I realise that this is not just about Canada … the reality is every country in the world is “underdeveloped” in its response to children and women’s human rights and equality issues.

Take care .... take heart .... Merinda