Some Thoughts about Water

The rainy season has just begun here in Johannesburg. Our days begin warm, get hotter and then usually end with thunderstorms and pouring rain. Almost within a week, the landscape has changed from the dusty brownness of winter to the lush greenness of the rainy season. 

Water is often a topic of conversation in the places we come from. In Melbourne, the past 10 years have seen us grow accustomed to water restrictions and make efforts to conserve water habitual. In Lancaster... well, it tends to rain a lot during the summer time, often disrupting well-laid outdoor activities. But in South Africa (and indeed many places in Africa) the conversations about water follow a different path.

Over 10% of South Africans still live without access to clean water. It doesn't sound like much, but in a country of 48 Million, that's over 4.8 Million people. Most of them live in rural areas where their water is tainted by run-off created by mining. But many of them also live in informal settlements, places that are 'on the list' for receiving basic amenities such as clean water and toilets.

Behind us and across from us at Refilwe there are informal settlements. Some of these places still lack easy access to clean water. In many of them there is one central tap from which all 1-3,000 people must draw water. Bathing is done from basins or in local rivers; contamination of rivers by human waste puts everyone who uses them at risk of diseases such as cholera and dysentery. 

Here at Refilwe we are lucky to have running water facilities. We don't have to get up early every morning to walk to a central source to fill tubs with water for our day. We don't have to worry about getting violently ill after drinking what comes from our tap. But many of the people we interact with face this as a daily challenge. There is not much Refilwe can do to change this fact, aside from waiting along with these people for the day their community tops 'the list'.