Water Hours and Rain Dances

The Dry Season is here. For most of the year there is enough rain to keep everyone happy. The trees and ground cover stay green and the water catchments are full. But from January to May the rain is infrequent, to the point where serious care and planning is necessary. Because most of the teachers live in school-provided housing, they share catchments. To help keep the water shortage at bay, we have had to host meetings to discuss ways to save water. On the way out, one teacher summed up the meeting by remarking, “So it’s water hours and rain dances!” Here are some things we do:

1.       There is a bucket at the bottom of the shower. All of that water is saved. Use it to soak dishes before they are washed.

2.       Never ever leave the water running – ever – for shaving, teeth brushing, etc.

3.       Never leave your hose connected. Make sure there is no handle on the spigot – people steal water here.

4.       For the group housing, they turn the water off during the day and late at night – in other words, they have water hours; again so neighbors don’t have the opportunity to steal the water.

5.       Run the washer when it rains.

6.       Showers are SHORT.

7.       If it’s yellow let it mellow.

There is city water but it is only turned on two days a week. And if the water runs out, it’s simply gone. Yikes! This morning our catchment was a quarter full and we were getting pretty nervous. So even though we were cold and wet on the sailing race today, we rejoiced when the rain came. The catchment is now half full.

I apologize I haven’t written in quite some time. Nate came before Christmas and stayed until February. Willard’s folks came in mid-January and were here for two weeks. Meanwhile work has been very busy. My personal goal is to finish sending out Christmas cards this week!

Lest you think I am whining, I include a picture of how we spent our Saturday afternoon. Our girls are undefeated – I call them the Scrappy Girls. They don’t have a great shooting percentage but they can sure steal a ball and get it down the court! Some are barefoot and others are running in flip-flops. It is great fun to watch them, especially on a sunny afternoon with a nice breeze! During half-time I watched the coach draw out his plans on his little white board and then erase it with the sole of his flip-flop and then continue to draw and explain the plays. As I’ve said before, life is pretty interesting here!

Thanks for reading, take care! Love to you, Becky

The Scrappy Girls in red win against the Catholic Girls