Water

Water is a scarce resource in Africa. A billion people worldwide lack safe, clean drinking water.  It’s probably the main reason for poor health. Without it, crops don’t grow so people are malnourished. Contaminated drinking water causes diarrheal illnesses which are responsible for 12% of mortality in children under 5. Poor sanitation due to limited ability to wash causes spread of communicable disease. Over 2 billion people don’t have access to latrines. No running water in hospitals prevents proper sterilization of instruments used in procedures (causing nosocomial infections). And on and on…

So when I complain of cold showers (which often clog up and barely flow) or toilets which don’t flush or water entirely running out, I’m complaining about something billions of people on the planet deal with  their whole lives.

We buy drinking water from town in a big 18 liter jug, which we have to get someone to lug up to our house. Or we refill small water bottles at the CMMB office for our daily use. Or I boil water. Or I uses this backpacker’s water filter to purify up to 16 ounces. We wash our dishes in tap water and then soak them in a solution of bleach water.

                                

We wash our clothes by hand in a bucket and hang them out on the line. Or we hire a housekeeper to do our laundry (and she also washes it by hand).

The average person in rural Kenya gets their water from a river (most are dry this time of year), or a well, or a sand dam, or a rain barrel. They carry the water in big jugs by donkey. All of this water needs to be treated, as some of it has very high mineral content or is contaminated by animals or otherwise unsuitable for drinking.

The rivers and reservoirs are dry this time of year, due to drought.  Sand dams trap the water, and hold it while particles sink to the bottom, but even these are dry.

There’s a product used to precipitate particles and microorganisms given out by CMMB to households. You add it to the water, stir for 5 minutes and then filter out the sludge that has sunk to the bottom. 

The latrines are usually squatting toilets that don’t have a seat and don’t involve water. They seem efficient but are difficult for someone with arthritis to manage! Luckily, our humble little volunteer house has a regular flushing toilet, even though it doesn’t have the best plumbing.

When I get home I’ll probably take baths, complain about the rain, and soak in my hot tub again.  I’ll also try not to judge people who water their lawns or play golf, but I’ll feel more grateful for what I previously took so much for granted.