No Water

Michigan is blessed with plenty of access to fresh water. That's not the same situation here in Africa. There have been a handful of people and organizations around the world trying to bring awareness to water issues (cleanliness, availability, etc.), and if you haven't listened to them yet, you better start. Water is a resource that I have taken for granted and have only just started paying attention to in the last year or so. 

Most people think of those who are extremely poor and live far away from a city being the ones who do not have water. While that is true, I currently do not have water. Parts of Grahamstown has been out of water for a couple days, and the current 'word on the street' is that it will not be back for another few days. Most people say that the problem has been caused by the fast growth in the city but no change in the water supply during that growth period. Clearly, one would expect the system to eventually become overloaded. This hasn't been the first time this has happened since I've been here. It is by far the most widespread event, but not the first time I've heard of it happening...and I've only been here for 2 weeks. 

Think about all the things you need water for. We are lucky because we can go to the store and buy bottle water because we have money for it. We also have huge rain barrels in the back that can be used for non-drinking purposes. However, what if we did not have those resources (and there are people here living in the townships that do not), what would we do? What would you do? How would you go about getting water for you and your family? (By the way, this is not just a problem that is happening outside of the U.S., as I hope you already know). 

The next time you turn on the faucet, think of where the water is coming from and think of all the people who either do not have faucets or who have dry ones.