Omeva (water in Otjiherero)

I never thought I’d be writing a blog post about water. Water is such a simple thing, and something I easily took for granted when I was in the States. But here, water is such a precious resource. In town, the water is shut off every night around 9pm in hopes of trying to regulate the water supply. And in the hospital where I live and work, the water isn’t shut off every night but when we least expect it, the water shuts off randomly and sometimes is off for days at a time. For a hospital to not have water for days at a time used to baffle me. How would the doctors and nurses wash their hands before treating a patient? How would they keep the hospital clean and spotless? But after understanding how the hospital works on a daily basis and seeing the disrepair of the hospital itself, it’s sad to say, but I now understand it. Even hand washing is a somewhat new practice. It's still something that is being taught in schools and in after school classes in hopes of it clicking into the learners' (students) heads. For many people, it is not something you do automatically after you go to the bathroom or before you eat dinner.

So when the water went out this weekend in the hospital, I was prepared physically but maybe not so much mentally. I knew the water occasionally went out and has already gone out quite a few times since I’ve been here. So I was aware that I should keep jerry cans and 2 liter soda bottles full of water in my house….just in case. But what I wasn’t ready for, was the time it took to do something that used to be so simple. Imagine your morning routine before going to work or school. You hop in the shower, turn on the hot and cold water faucets so the temperature is just right, then soap up, rinse and towel off. Simple enough, right? Well let’s just say that I will really be appreciating the simple things in life from now on. It’s just a good thing that it’s starting to be summer weather and not winter. Because if it was winter, I would’ve had to pour some water into my electric kettle and boil water so I wouldn’t have ice cold water for my bucket bath and then attempt to get myself clean with the limited water supply. Luckily though, in the summer I’ve been able to time it just right so I can take a semi-luke warm shower if I shower between 1-5pm (if the water’s on at the hospital of course). Wahoo!

And when I woke up this morning, I heard the lovely sound of the water being refilled in my geyser (hot water heater). The water's back on!