"ABOUT WATER"

"I give thanks to God every morning when I wake up for the day that I am about to receive" and at night when I go to bed I give thanks for the day I have had". I include in my thanks to God the "Good" things and the "Bad" things that might have happened during that day...., but I have never thought of "WATER".

And now that I have seen and lived "real" experiences about "not having" water available from a tap....! I still feel sooo very fortunate that I have drinking water (in sachet form), cooking water, bathing water, even if it is from a bucket sometimes.....!!!

I went to a small village, near Nkawkaw, this past week , and as I was taken to see the water fountain source, I saw and took a picture of the village people queuing with all sorts of buckets and pans to get their share of water for the following days.... They did it as a matter of course, and just talked and shared their lives in that way....

I went past them and went to the water well and was stopped by the village people. They said that if I wanted to walk in I could, but that I had to take my shoes off. I did not want to walk in bare feet, so I took pictures from a distance. The well looked inviting and fresh, but because there has not been rain for quite a while there is a water shortage. So, for now and until the rainy season starts that village will have water rationing, but that is part of their integral lives.

I went to another village, near Ofaakor which is an hour and a half north east of Accra. We met with about eighty people, between adults and children and had a very special day giving medical assistance. We were meant to accompany our nurse friend Cathy to watch her work with the community. Judi, Michael, Cathy and I ended giving medical assistance under a beautiful tree at the queen's house, but that is another story!

I found out that the people who live in the surrounding villages of Ofaakor have to walk twenty minutes each way to get any sort of water and that the drinking water has to be either boiled or bought in sachets, which they do not have the money for. As a result of that situation people are not drinking enough water and therefore complain of various ailments like head aches, stomach aches and we suspected in several of the cases that there is a cleanliness related illness resulting in diarrhea, but how do you suggest to people who cannot get drinking water that they are supposed to wash things very well with lots of soap and water?

Today my perspective about water has changed radically and I can now see that it is a "sacred" resource and now I understand why the people at the well will not let you get near it with your shoes on!Today I took a shower! I said to myself: "Medasi peeee" (which to me, is how it sounds like giving "thanks very much" in Twi). And now, I will not be able to take a shower for a very long time, hoping it will be for the rest of my life, without feeling the miracle of: "WATER". (Silvia)