Water

Nearly everyone I ask here in Sengerema names the biggest problem they face on a day-to-day basis is access to water. Strangely enough, Sengerema has the largest coastal boarder of all regions in TZ, Kenya, or Uganda with Lake Victoria (the 2nd largest lake in the world and largest in Africa). Yet there is still a shortage of water. I do not fully understand why, but people tell me that the mechanic pumps are old and outdated, the lake is heavily polluted, and . Furthermore in a country where most power is supplied by hydroelectricity, shortage of water means no power (for those who are lucky enough to be connected to a grid).

The family I am staying with luckily has a water tap in their housing area. They told me that 3 years ago there was a massive water shortage and drought, all they told me was that it was "very very bad". This forced them to purchase a water resiovoir to harvest rainwater and to store water in during dry season as well as a new tap. Now in August nearing the end of dry season the resevoir is close to empty.

The Malekela family shares this tap with about 6 or 7 other families. They pay per litre of water harvested and have access to water about 3 times a week. When water is availible there are always large gatherings at the house as young girls and mothers (always and only females) fill their water pails to bring back home.

Keep in mind, here in Sengerema town (the largest village) there is the best and most provision of water. While travelling to other villages such as Nyehunge, water is even more scarce and people often have to bring it from longer distances that are less safe to consume. In Nyehunge very few people have taps which means there are many more than just 7 families sharing one.

Because the water system is much different than in Canada, I am very concious of how much water I am using. My showers are from a bucket so I know just how much water I have remaining (so I cannot stand under the shower for another 5 minutes and enjoy the warm (or cold) water). All drinking water must be boiled in an iron pot over a charcoal/wood stove; and all warm water must also be heated over an open fire. There are no flush toilets and no tap to wash your hands.

Over the past few days I have tried to measure the amount of water I used each day. My averages (ommitting washing clohtes) per day is:

Drinking: 3.5L
Cooking: about 8L
Brushing Teeth: 600mL
Bathing: 9.5L
Washing Hands: 2.5L
'Flushing' Toilet: 750mL
TOTAL = about 25L per day

Comparing this to the average Canadian water consumption per day (estimated at 343L per day in 1998) I use less than 8% of the average Canadian here in TZ. I also realized that my home in Canada has about 5 or 6 taps and 2 shower heads all that provide purified water ready for drinking. The average toilet flushes 3.5L each time using purified water and an average shower can be well over 50L. In TZ, the toilets are simply a hole in the ground and have no sophistacated or sanitary sewar systems. Some homes even have no toilet.

Something to think about.