Paradoxes and Pula*

The rains came after a long, dry spell, and then they continued…

Ironically—paradoxically--we’ve had LOTS of water, but we have a water shortage. We have been without water in the city for a week now. That’s a slight exaggeration, but close enough. You see, after four days of monsoon-type rain, the city’s water system buckled; it simply was not designed to handle the pressure of the water running through it, let alone all the silt that clogged major water pipes.

As a result, last Sunday night I received a phone call from my Headmaster at the school warning me that there would be no water. How fortuitous, that phone call! Had it not been for that warning and the chance it gave us to fill up all sorts of water containers, we’d be very dry right now.

A slight reprieve on Tuesday also helped out, since the water works were repaired briefly and we could do a quick refill of some containers. We even gave some water away thinking that we had lots. Unfortunately the ‘fix’ did not last. The problem with the water system worsened--a major pump broken, amongst other difficulties resulted in a shut off of the water once again.

…It has been an enlightening experience watching this capital city manage. Life carries on as if…well, as if nothing is really that different. The thing is, the majority of people here do not have indoor plumbing. They rely on pit latrines and hauling household water from (relatively) nearby wells. Small amounts of water are the norm of consumption, so, mainly it is we ‘developed world’ types and major services that are feeling parched…although this really is a major exaggeration I guess. At least for the first few days, people seemed to be just carrying on, but it’s not a good situation. People washing clothes in muddy streams, walking along the streets with empty buckets that have nowhere to be filled… Obviously people ARE feeling it, but life IS carrying on. I do like that about here, though. Things that would be major catastrophes in North America and such places just seem to be dealt with so much more calmly here. We just carry on as best we can. Again, I do NOT want to trivialize this situation. It IS a major health risk to have so many people without potable water. And this is NOT just Maseru proper since quite a few outlying areas have been impacted as well. But we are managing.

Today, for the first time, I see news bulletins on the posts along the street: Water Crisis Continues, so I do a quick u-turn and head into town to pick up the paper. This is the first news of any kind that we have received, partly perhaps because we don’t understand Sesotho! The article gives the shocking news of the extent of the problem: “Five districts run dry” and hundreds of thousands of people have been impacted.

Later today, we hear better news, that some parts of the city have had water restored. Maybe tomorrow I can ululate, celebrate, dance and sing in the shower!


*Sesotho for rain