It's 2022 and time to revisit hydrophilanthropy and see where it's been, where it is, and where it's headed. And maybe we can answer the question, what is hydrophilanthropy? (or 'HP').
Water Resources IMPACT has published two issues devoted to HP - January 2010 and January 2016. Here is a link to the blog post introducing the 2010 issue and the PDF:
The January 2016 issue is unavailable - here is a link to the January 2016 blog post and a link to a PPT of mine on HP.
Reading the blog posts and Table of Contents of the January 2010 issue will
give an idea of what HP is. From the 2010 blog post:
In recent years there has been unparalleled concern for the great numbers of people who lack access to clean water and sanitation --up to 1 billion and 2.5 billion, respectively, by some accounts. Water professionals, students, and others have answered the call by working or volunteering for organizations that seek to alleviate the suffering caused by dirty water and poor sanitation. The term ‘hydrophilanthropy’ was coined to describe these humanitarian activities, and this IMPACT issue explores some of the facets of hydrophilanthropy, including questions about the efficacy of these endeavors and controversy over the use and meaning of the term itself.
Here is an editorial I wrote in the Water Well Journal for the National Ground Water Association.
So why I am writing all this? Simple. I want to assemble another issue for July-August 2022 of Water Resources IMPACT and I'd like to hear from you - write an article!
Download IMPACT Author Instructions clean
The instructions may seem onerous but they aren't really - I am looking for articles (not journal articles). I want something on the order of 800-1500 words, with some figures/graphics and conversational/storytelling style.
Topics
So what kinds of topics would be appropriate? Some examples:
1) Case studies of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) projects in emerging regions.
2) Inappropriate technologies and techniques; Avoiding BSOs ('Bright Shiny Objects')
3) Capacity- building and training.
4) Working with underserved groups in 'developed' regions - Central Valley of California, Appalachia, First Nations, Indigenous peoples, et al.
5) Ensuring sustainabiity
6) Diversity, equity and inclusion
7) Unethical approaches
8) Is 'hydrophilanthropy' an inappropriate term?
9) 'Feel-good' approaches - a bad thing?
10) Fundraising strategies, approaches and caveats
11) Education; student involvement; training the trainers
12) Are the projects appropriate, necessary and desirable? Who decides?
13) Monitoring and evaluation; measuring success.
14) More!
The fuse is short - I need your finished article by 11 July. Send me a synopsis of 100-150 words or so by 3 June 2022. Email: [email protected].
Thanks!
"I can't define hydrophilanthropy but I know it when I see it." - Michael E. Campana (apologies to former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart)
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