Such a simple idea – have an evening of spoken word, poetry and readings in the Bay Area, and send the money raised to those in need. A village in Africa or India can then have clean water for the first time and prevent three or four children a month dying from water borne diseases. Thousands of villages in these parts of the world are without running water and depend on a polluted river for all their needs. All it takes to change that is $8,000 -10,000 per village. That sum pays for a well with simple handpump, a rainwater collection tank, and eco-sanitation toilets. The groundwork is done by a UK charity, Wherever The Need, which also has non-profit status in the US. We have staged two Poetry For Water events this year in the Bay Area, and two months after each event another village has running water. Each Poetry For Water event features several writers and poets. Who says poetry is ineffectual when it comes to the real world?

On November 8th 2009 we have the wonderful and wonderfully funny writer Annie Lamott, with Roger Housden and Nina Wise at a benefit to bring water to a village in India. Throckmorton Theatre Mill Valley. See Shedule page.

To book a Poetry for Water event with Roger, go to the Contact page and mention your interest in this experience.

Here’s an inspiring video that gives the flavor of what Wherever The Need does in Sierra Leone and elsewhere. 90% of all funds go to the specific project. David Crosweller, who you will see in the video, is Roger's English friend who started the charity and runs it today, supported by a board of UK businessmen. Their website wherevertheneed.co.uk gives the scope of their activities world wide.