"Water is the Lifeblood of Our Environment”
Q&A with humanitarian aid worker Amiah Warder

Amiah Warder studied at Au Sable’s Pacific Rim Campus in the summer of 2015. She applies her ecological training to help communities in Southeast Asia and Asia access clean and sustainable sources of water. In this interview she shares how the spiritual disciplines of rest, scripture, community, and prayer keep her going in desperate situations.

How did Au Sable shape you?

That hands-on experience was incredibly valuable. I ended up doing something very different from alpine ecology or marine biology, but it gave me such an appreciation for creation and our roles as environmental stewards.

It helped me look ecologically at the big picture. For example, I might see a little marmot on this far hill and take a picture and say, “Oh that’s cute.” But that marmot is connected to us in this whole intricate ecological web, and climate change is affecting every part of that.

Ultimately it helped me look at the poor and marginalized who are the most affected by climate change and environmental degradation. As someone who works in humanitarian aid, I’m trying to help those people who are most affected by negative impacts to the environment.

How did you transition to humanitarian aid?

When I first graduated, I pursued a career in botany. While I was doing that God kept putting on my heart, “Hey have you thought about helping people overseas? Have you thought about water?” I was able to get an internship with a humanitarian aid organization that allowed me to break into that field.

What are the water issues where you work?

Water issues depend on so many things, from geopolitical issues to climate. How is the water resource being managed? Who is using it? Is there enough of it? Not only is water access a key issue in a lot of humanitarian crises we see, but it’s also a key solution.

Water is also the lifeblood of our environment. You’re not just asking, how am I going to pull water from this one spring to get this person enough water to drink today? You’re looking at the entire watershed. What are the root causes to why this person isn’t getting enough water? Why is this water dirty? How can I come alongside and help?

What kinds of skills do you use daily to address these issues?

It's a lot of interpersonal skills, facilitating a project to ensure the people and resources are in place to implement a solution, whether that be installing a filter or digging a pond. I work with a lot of technical experts and the local community.

How do climate change and geopolitical issues interconnect?

Say you’re in a desert area and there wasn’t a lot of water to begin with. Climate change is exacerbating the issue of water scarcity in this area. That can be a major driver of conflict, even in areas where there might be some other obvious source of conflict. Often there’s tension over access to limited resources and that tension exacerbates other existing socio-economic issues.

What would you say to someone who really cares about doing environmental work but might not realize all the social and political factors going on in the background?

One of the best ways to learn has been to do. The biggest growth area for me is learning from the people who are in those communities, who are the experts of their own situation and ecosystem. They often already know what needs to happen for them to have sustainable access to clean water but need better connection to resources and technical expertise in order to implement a solution.

What is your role in these cases?

For me coming in as a humanitarian aid worker, it’s mostly facilitating the solution. Maybe they just need a boost, somebody helping them logistically get the materials they need or providing extra training. One example was working on a project that solarized wells. The people did not have good access to water, let alone clean water, based on climate, geography, and geopolitical factors. One major factor was fuel shortages, which we all experienced this past year. My team got to go in and ask, “How are you guys doing? How can we help?” The community said, “We just need a sustainable source of energy to continue powering our pump.” We were able to provide the materials and expertise to do that.

What are the challenges of your work?

You’re seeing difficult things. It’s long hours. That can be very draining. What keeps me going are the people—incredible teams of people who want to help and the communities we get to work with. It's such a blessing to come alongside people, to learn from them and work with them to achieve some lasting change.

I also make sure to spend time in the Word and with a Christian community. To make sure that even as I’m trying to pour into others I’m being poured into as well. And I try to be honest with myself about when I need rest. I try to take a break before I become too burned out and useless to anyone.

How do you establish a rhythm for rest?

The biggest thing is to get into a good routine and have discipline. One of my key weaknesses is that I will prioritize work sometimes above all other things. Maybe I'm on a really exciting project and I just want to work one more hour. At the end of the day, I have to have the discipline to say ”enough.” That ultimately makes you stronger, more efficient, more effective, and better able to pour into people than if you go all for it and burn yourself out.

What other spiritual practices sustain you?

Prayer, practicing gratitude, and maintaining a watchful eye for God’s hand. In so many situations where we’re trying to help, you look back and say, “Only God could have done this.” We see the things we’re looking for. I spend a lot of time talking to God, being vigilant, and watching for God to work so when He does, I can see it.

How do you apply an ecological perspective to your work?

As a scientist, you learn to look at things at a microscopic view and also at a 30,000-foot view, to understand both the broader ecosystem and the individual elements and organisms that make up the system. That translates really well into my line of work, not only understanding what’s going on ecologically, but also all the other factors—sociological, economical, geopolitical—influencing one person or community’s water supply.

You’ve been in some ecologically degraded places. What do you do with that?

It’s hard. I recognize I’m only a guest and I only get to be in places for a short time. I can’t solve all the world’s problems, as much as I’d like to. That’s where prayer becomes very important. The Bible story that always comes back to me is when Jesus is riding in on his donkey in the triumphal entry (Luke 19:28-40). Everybody is shouting, “Hosanna!” The disciples are telling Jesus, “You need to tell all these people to be quiet.” He says, “Even if I told them to be quiet, these rocks would cry out.”

That is what you see in this line of work. Even if we weren’t there as humanitarian workers. Even if nobody was there helping, the rocks would still cry out. God can still accomplish what He wants to accomplish.

I also recognize the need to understand ecological systems and how my personal environmental impact might be affecting the bigger picture. As one human I can’t do all that much to fix the world’s problems, but I’m also one human who has an environmental as well as a spiritual impact in the world. What do I want that impact to look like?