I’m thirsty

 

Coming from Australia as I do, I can appreciate the need for water conservation. I remember in Primary School doing projects on how we could save water at home. We calculated the amount of water we could save if we didn't leave the tap running while we were brushing our teeth. After moving out of home I remember being paranoid about whether I was watering the 'lawn' on the 'right day' during one summer of water rationing. However I decided that it didn't really matter as for most of the summer it had not been watered at all hence 'lawn'.

I remember being told to not leave taps running, to have shorter showers, to not wash my car with a hose etc. I remember going to the barrage at Goolwa and being shocked at the level of the water (at the mouth of Australia's largest river system), I remember seeing images of jetties extending into dry land, I remember images of cattle and other livestock dying for lack of feed and water.

With these memories, images and a lifetime of water conservation education I have been shocked by the lack of water available in a country who has regularly had in the past two wet and two dry seasons a year (the last two years however have seen a change in this pattern and this is one of the factors contributing to current food shortages across the region). The famine that is currently gripping Somalia and the media is caused by the same drought as is gripping Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and other countries in the area, although in Somalia the conflict that rages is the major contributor to the size of the catastrophe.

one of the many media images from the current Somalian famine

There have been many things that also leave me bemused, coming from the background I do. For instance, guttering. Now I know that not every house in Australia has a rainwater tank. But at home we do. It's a pretty big one. And we also used to have a smaller tank that was used for drinking water. So our gutters have always been to collect water into the tanks. I never really thought about what those houses that don't have tanks need gutters for. Being here I think I've seen the reason. Because here it seems that the main reason for guttering is to keep water away from the foundation of the house and water collection is secondary. Maybe this is also true of Australia? However at home we were also connected to mains water which I was never worried about being off for days at a time. So here where being connected to piped water is a reality for the few it seems that the collection of rainwater would be all the more important to the many. Most houses don't have gutters let alone rainwater tanks. But I guess that is only feasible when you live in a house with a tin/tiled roof. Those who have a thatched roof don't even have the option. And it's only feasible if you have the money to spend. With the average household in developing countries using more than half of their income on food, one can understand why house improvements aren't high on the list of priorities. Comparatively, many of what we call developed countries spend around 10% of their pay on food. With food prices going high here in Uganda, you can imagine the impact this has on the poorest and most desperate families.

There are many NGO projects that provide water to communities through boreholes, wells, rainwater tanks and other means. Why? Because 1 out of every 8 people on the planet do not have access to safe water. I read somewhere that in one five minute shower someone uses more water than many of those in developing countries will use in a day. If you want to find facts yourself check out water.org or for a novel way of supporting water projects check out thankyou water, a uniquely Aussie enterprise.

At the moment we are very excited because we are installing rainwater tanks in 5 of our Australia HOPE International schools through Australian Government grants issued through the Australian High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya. This project will provide a more consistent water source that will allow improved hygiene and safe drinking water to be accessed. Both of which will improve attendance at school. We are yet to see whether the 10 000L tanks will last for the dry seasons which can last several months. But it is a start. Every improvement we make slowly lifts the standards at our schools and the quality of life for our students.

thankful students from Ebenezer and Trust HOPE Primary Schools

So this week as you shower, wash clothes, cook, clean and drink with your clean water remember to be thankful that you didn’t have to spend hours fetching it from a contaminated water source many kilometres away, that you didn’t have to boil it to use it, that it wont cause skin infections and that most likely you wont develop dysentery. I know I am.

some of the boys who live on site at Trust HOPE Primary School who will no longer have to fetch water thanks to the new tanks donated by the Australian Government

Be blessed

bron