Seth’s World View

I start off my discussion of Africa talking about water. I didn’t give water much thought before going. That’s just it: I don’t give it much thought. It’s just there, always flowing. It comes from the faucet both hot and cold. Parasites are few to none. Our water is sterile. We don’t have to collect it, nor do we worry about there not being enough. At least, that’s the way it is for most Americans, as far as I know.

I remember debates when I was younger, and even now, about the possible negative impact of flouride, and the other chemicals in the water. I’m not bringing them up to debates the pros and cons, but rather, to point out how silly it is to complain about our water when most of the world doesn’t have readily available sterile water. That’s not to say I like drinking any more chemicals than I have to. I have since purchased a filter for the faucet. What I am though, is thankful to have sterile water. The first few days back, it was surreal to be able to not have to boil my water first.

I ended up just outside Mbarara in a facility that had running water. The city has water lines. Had I ended up in a village, we would have only had the water we collected. That’s the way it is for my friends Rebekah and Leah in the village where they reside. I asked about the running water, and was told it had parasites. Thus, we boiled it. Since we had electricity, we used an electric kettle. I’ve been a convert to electric kettles since my days in New Zealand, and now, think they are perhaps the greatest kitchen appliance ever.

I enjoyed an African rain storm one day. I was on my way back to the children’s home, walking, and it started to rain. I got out my very portable Marmot jacket, and can say it doesn’t work very well in a downpour. I thoroughly enjoyed it though, and opted not to hire a boda. Uganda gets a lot of rain, though not throughout the year. One place I read said they have four seasons: wet, wetter, dry, dryer. During the dry seasons, one may have to conserve water.

In the desert regions of the world, water is a big deal, and people have devised all sorts of ways to catch and preserve it. While resources like oil certainly deserve attention in our changing world, some would say water doesn’t get the attention it should.

With water in mind, I just purchased a Steripen, which uses UV to purify water, along with a few sets of batteries. It’s useful for backpacking and for my next venture into the developing world. And if we ever have any water issues where I live in the US, it’ll be good for that too. I also would like to get the LifeSaver. Their standard bottle is nice, but their jerrycan is quite compelling for everyday use if needed, as it has both a long filter life and a large capacity.

And that, my friends, is what I have to say about water.