THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WATER

 Frances Black - Projects Abroad

In England, water doesn’t run out. It flows freely from the taps and hoses of every household, filling up pots, pans, baths and bottles. It does not have a value, a meaning, a purpose; it is simply there, an unquestioned condition of our daily lives, fluidly but unremarkably passing before our eyes. We triumphantly douse our cars with buckets of gleaming water; we chase each other with hoses spurting endless streams of liquid, and when it rains we shake-off the cascades of raindrops with indifference and rejection. Water is a normality, and its cleanliness is rarely considered when we fill up a glass. It is gulped down and spilled, its supply as seemingly never-ending as the air we breathe. Everybody does it, and with such a reliable supply it is not something to be judged or criticised, but rather serves as a striking and interesting comparison with the relationship that many others have with water.

It is shame that many others cannot enjoy this unchallenged flexibility, with around one eighth of the world’s population lacking access to safe, clean drinking water. Many people do not see water as a permanent and constant guarantee, but rather a source of worry and anxiety, as approximately 1.4 million children die every year from diarrhoea caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. Instead of using water freely, they must protect it and use it sparingly, with every drop holding significance and worth. 

In the village Moree in the south of Ghana, there are only five community pipes offering safe water for a population of about 2,500. The pipes, although vital and fantastic for the community, are alas still not enough to provide for all of the residents of this town, and as the town continues to expand and grow, for many the taps are a long distance from their homes. As well as this, the water is not free of charge, with the price depending principally on whether the pipe is a private or public one. One private pipe, owned by Timothy Otoo, charges 5 pesewas per bucket of water. With the average person in the developing world using 10 litres of water every day for their drinking, washing and cooking, it is clear that water can be an expensive commodity for many. Instead of using a private pipe, one could also use one of the public taps in the town, which charges 5 pesewas for two buckets of water. Although this may seem like the obvious choice, it is far busier and far more crowded than the private pipes.

Fortunately, the cleanliness of the areas around the pipes is not taken lightly by the owners, as they reassured us that they are cleaned regularly to make the area safe. Nevertheless, despite the seemingly successful nature of the pipes, the chief of Moree, Nana Kweigya, stated that the town still had many problems. For example, the council vowed to build a large reservoir in Moree, but failed to complete this, and many people have to carry their buckets of water a long way to their homes. He asserted that as Moree was such a large community, they should receive help to make sure that everyone has enough water, stating that ideally people should have water in their houses.

The differences seen in Moree go to show how two places can have such vastly opposing attitudes to something so fundamental and central to the life of human beings. In London you could run a bath, wash the dishes and drink a bottle of water without blinking an eyelid; however in Moree, the contents of the average bath, at 100 litres, could last one person about 10 days, and clean, safe water would be a priceless possession rather than an expectation. Hopefully one day everybody will be able to take advantage of water without one single second thought, without one flinch of hesitation, and without one thought to disease or rationing.