A Bottle Of Water

20 oz. bottle of water- 600 RWF

20 oz. Coke- 200 RWF

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H20

Water—

Covers 71% of the earth’s surface.

The human body consists of anywhere from 55% to 78% water.

To function properly, the body requires between one and seven liters of water per day.

Many of the worlds poor are unable to drink clean water, thus living with chronic illness due to parasites and other diseases that are in the water. I see first hand the effect that this has, as the health centers are full of patients who have diarrhea and other illnesses related to unclean water. The picture below slightly captures the immeasurable value of clean water to the people here in Rwanda.

Many others who are not as fortunate as these children, who have a bore hole, must walk for miles to get water that they use for basic things such as washing their clothes, themselves and of course, for drinking. If they want to drink the water, they then have to boil it if they are to be assured of drinking clean water. This takes an immense amount of time and energy which inevitably stunts economic development. If the time that was spent searching for and transporting water was channelled into economic activity, it could potentially increase the income of the community. This picture is a representation of any road in Rwanda and most of Africa where you will see children, mothers and youth carrying these yellow containers filled with this life giving substance–water.

Last week we worked at health centers that were in the west of the country, near the border of the DRC. Most of the time we could see the beauty of Lake Kivu and in the morning as the sun was rising and we were driving on the bad roads, it somehow made everything ok. One of the health centers we had to collect data from was located on an island called Nkombo. We had to take a boat to get to the island and all of my colleagues are deathly afraid of water. The pictures are very funny, but I dont have the time to upload them right now. By the way, everyone lived…

That weekend I crossed the border into the DR Congo to visit my friend Tshali Kabanga’s family in Bukavu. They were very welcoming and kind even though I dont really speak their language. However, for two days we both stumbled to speak the limited english and french that we knew and in the end we left as good friends. It is always humbling to see how other cultures treat their guests compared to our traditions in the USA. This family who I had never met took their weekend to treat me like I was the most important person in the country and in the end thanked me for coming. I dont understand it, but it always humbles me.

Last week, we worked at a health center called Karora, which is situated on Lake Kivu in the west of Rwanda. School vacation started this week so the kids were everywhere. As if it isnt already enough to be swarmed by people who want to look at you, when hundreds of children are out of school it has a multiplying effect. Upon finishing the data collection, I walked outside to a throng of curious onlookers. When our driver explained to me that this 4′ tall boy wanted to challenge me to a swimming race, I couldnt say no. Knowing that I have the gift of competition, it was easy to get me to strip off my clothes and jump in the lake to race a 10 year old Rwandan boy.

By the way— I won.

Water is all around us and inside of us. It is the lakes we swim in, the substances we drink, and the essence of our human life. This last picture captures the great potential as well as the limited access that most of the world has to clean water. It is something to think about.