I woke up this morning, and we did not have running water. When we returned from school this afternoon, the water had returned as well. I immediately turned on the water heater in my bathroom, and thirty minutes later I was in the shower. Since I’ve been in Gonder, I have now been able to take three showers (one cold and two hot). We have stocked up on bottles for drinking and barrels of clean water from the JDC Health Clinic for cooking, washing dishes and clothing, and flushing our toilets. As someone who showers daily and occasionally twice in one day, I’ve had to get over my notion of “clean” and come to terms with the scarcity and sanctity of water abroad.
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This is a dried up river we pass every day on the way to
school or into town. Many locals bath and wash their
clothing here. |
While I am a self-proclaimed water abuser, I am not a germaphobe. I have been known to ride the New York subway without immediately washing my hands after each trip. Over the summer, I had a flip-flop break while walking across 49th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue. The Theater District is a slightly more sanitary extension of Times Square that boasts the unmistakable stench of urine, feces, garbage, and sweaty tourists. I made it to work a block away and immediately doused my foot with soap and water. I checked on my foot at the end of the day and was surprised that it had not turned green and fallen off.
Arguably, the Head Lice Hysteria of 2007 was worse than the Flip-Flop Fiasco of 2011. During my freshman year of college I traveled to Montevideo, Uruguay to volunteer with Un Techo Para Mi PaÃs building houses in slums. We were constructing a new one-room home for a young mother and her five children. I spent the majority of my time playing with the children. Regrettably, I allowed the girls to touch my hair and braid it. It wasn’t until finals, a few weeks after returning, that I realized I had lice, and a bad case of it at that. I’ll spare you the details, but I spent the next few weeks battling the lice. I know every shampoo, homeopathic remedy, and trick out there.
So as you can see, I am no stranger to germs. And, frankly, I think a good shock to the immune system every once and while only makes you stronger. I’ve made it 23 years after all. At home, I’ve been careless. Here I need to make more of a concerted effort to think about my health. I quickly learned to always carry hand sanitizer and tissues, avoid wearing sandals, and inquire at restaurants about how vegetables are prepared. I am more conscious of where my hands have been and where they are going. It’s a little tiresome right now, but I know it will become second nature in time.
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Farm animals roam the streets, bringing with them lots of
flies and fleas and leaving behind dropping |
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| Cows, goats, and sheep grazing at the local amphitheater |
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Many roads, especially those outside of Gonder, are dirt,
which makes wearing sandals a filthy endeavor |
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| Children love shaking hands |
According to The Water Project, a non-profit organization bringing relief communities around the world who suffer from lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation, nearly 1 billion people do not have safe water to drink. Additionally, 115 die every hour from diseases linked to poor sanitation, poor hygiene, and contaminated water. My experience with water shortages has certainly been more of a nuisance than a health risk. Sadly, for many people in Ethiopia this is not the case. The JDC has recognized the need for clean water in the Gonder region. It has built nine wells in rural villages and is currently involved in other purifying projects. I hope to see these during my time in Gonder.
High quality water is more than the dream of the conservationists, more than a political slogan; high quality water, in the right quantity at the right place at the right time, is essential to health, recreation, and economic growth.
-Edmund S. Muskie, U.S. Senator, 1966
