Water is Life

Water is Life.

I have been thinking about this blog a lot, because I really want the message to be clear. So here we go…

To some, water is scary and to others it can be so much fun. Ever think about all that water can be? Water can be calm, luxurious, unpredictable, soothing, refreshing, or even inconvenient. Before I go on, I want you to think about a time when water was each of the words listed above… I’ll go first.

Ocean, Cape Coast

When I think of calm and luxurious water, I picture the lake at my cottage as we are eating dinner while the sun is setting. When I think of water as unpredictable I picture big ocean waves and not knowing what they can do. I picture the ocean and all of the creatures in it that I don’t even know exist. When I think of soothing and refreshing, I picture myself showering after a soccer game on a hot summer day. When I think of water as inconvenient, I picture having to shower and dealing with my wet hair afterwards. All of these images that I once had have completely changed over the past four weeks.

When I think of water at home in Canada, I don’t consider it to be a luxury. It is just there; it always has been and always will be. In Damongo, I live on my own in a compound with about seven other Ghanaian families. We all share the same bathrooms and showers. By bathrooms and showers, I mean we have four small rooms- two are just empty with a small drain (showers) and the other two have holes in them (toilets). There is electricity almost all of the time but there is no access to water. That’s right, no access to water. We each have large plastic bins/buckets we fill with water and then fetch more when it is empty. When we want to shower we fill up a bucket and head to the empty room to splash water on ourselves and scrub the dirt off with a bar of soap. It is safe to say that my feelings towards water have drastically changed.

Access to water in Damongo, Ghana

I now see water as a luxury. It is something that I am so incredibly grateful to have. Water in Damongo is very scarce. There are a few places in town where you go fill up your water from giant water tanks that were funded by different organizations. Sometimes water is not available in Damongo, especially clean, safe drinking water. This, therefore, is what I mean by water is unpredictable, as it is not always available. However, I still think no 

matter where you are, water is refreshing! As inconvenient as it is to shower out of a bucket, there is nothing more refreshing than a “shower” after a long, hot day! And lastly, water can be inconvenient. Looking back, I was so foolish to think that having to dry my hair after a shower was inconvenient. Having to walk far to get water is not only inconvenient, but it is strenuous work. I pay a lady to fetch water for me, and I feel incredibly guilty every time. She has to walk back and forth at least 5 times in the extreme heat carrying loads of water on her head- just to fill up my bucket.  There is no doubt in my mind that I will give her something at the end of my internship in order to thank her for the water she has provided me with.

I have worked in places (like the Dominican Republic) where there was a lack of water, or where the water was incredibly dirty. I thought I understood the “big water problem,” but I don’t think I did. There is a big difference between working in an area with polluted water, and living in one. With the work that I did in those areas, a part of me always knew that at the end of the day I could escape to my room where I was staying and have a decently warm shower. Through having this incredible experience, I have been able to see just how difficult it is to live as a Ghanaian. And I am just referring to water, there are so many other challenges that they face on a daily basis- but perhaps that can wait for another day.

carrying water

I hang out with a friend every day and we drink “pure water”- which is clean drinking water. On one of the first days we hung out, he handed me pure water and said “water is life” and not a day goes by that I don’t think about that statement. Water is life. Think about it…  water keeps us alive in so many different ways. We drink water to stay hydrated, we cook with water and stay nourished, we bathe in water to stay clean and healthy… we use water in almost everything we do. Water is life.

So next time you waste water, or complain about water- I want you to think twice. It is not always a matter of “I have it so I can use it” but a matter of respect- you should always value the water you have. So I challenge you not to waste water. Think of it as a way of showing respect to those who don’t always have water.  

I am so incredibly blessed to be Canadian, where I have access to clean drinking water every single day. I have been so privileged and so grateful to have this experience. Not everybody can have the same experience to travel overseas and see these problems first hand, so I am writing this blog to share the message in hopes that you, the readers, understand that Water is Life.

Lots of Love,

Bianca

P.S.: can someone show this to my brother please... xo