In our quest to get you caught up with our lives, today’s entry is about the eight days we recently spent without running water. That’s right: 8 days with no water in almost the entire city of Maseru plus four other municipalities. As if to taunt us, it rained for almost the entire time. What is more, the rain was apparently to blame for the failed pump. Lesotho definitely has its ironies. Ready for this one? Water is Lesotho’s primary export.
The good news about the whole thing is that the school finished installing a well about two days before the water went out, so we were able to fill up bottles from school. We shared with our housekeeper and guard, of course, but couldn’t help feeling for those people who didn’t have any connections like this; after all, life without water is difficult!
While we were busy experimenting with how best to take an effective shower out of a 5-liter bottle, things were much worse elsewhere. The factories gave their workers the week off (without pay, we are certain) because they were unable to operate without water. We heard that the hospital was not able to perform chest x-rays because water was required for the machines to work. One of the teaching assistants at school had a very sick child who was treated with antibiotics and prayers because the lack of water prevented doctors from being able to properly diagnose him.
Where did they have running water, you ask? Well, our friends who live in the mostly European neighborhood didn’t lose water at all. In addition, the teacher at our school who lives near the palace didn’t seem to have any trouble. The worst is that, while the hospital was not performing x-rays, all of the food venues at the mall (which surely depend on water) were fully functional.
By day four we started asking ourselves: When do people here start getting fed up with this, and insist that something be done? Why aren’t there any newspaper stories about this serious problem that is affecting so many people? Who knows the truth about what’s going on here? Should we start building a pit latrine outside?
Interestingly, the people with whom we talked all seemed to agree – since running water is such a new amenity in Lesotho, the vast majority of Basotho haven’t become accustomed to it. People weren’t getting angry because they weren’t very bothered. Those who lost running water simply returned to the old ways of carting water from the pump. Those that already cart water each day didn’t know the difference.
Now, most days we feel as if we live in “Africa light”. The city is a little bud on it’s way to blooming, just trying to figure out how. Often it’s as though Maseru could flower at any moment. The realization, however, that most people here don’t consider running water essential to their day-to-day lives, made the city feel much less developed. Newsflash: we really do live in the 3rd world.
We’ll leave you with the questions we’ve been pondering: at what point does a life-altering technology become so valuable that you start to rely on it? How long does it have to work well before you stop using the old ways and start depending on the new one? Do people have a right to running water in countries that have the technology and resources to provide it?
We hope you are well. More updates are to come. Think of us next time you turn on a tap!
Love,
S&J
