Water, water, everywhere...

October 17, 2012

Water, water, everywhere…

And you’d think, with the rainy season only just tapering off, getting water would be simple.  At present, it is puddling in all the potholes and raging along in the river that is just north of my bungalow.  In fact, I get an ample supply of water from this tank out in back of my house that comes directly from the river.

The water is perfect for laundering, bathing, and household cleaning but because it is a bit brown-ish and filled with all sorts of micro-organisms, it is far from potable.  So, this is just to show what goes into getting a few liters of water every day.

First, I have to fetch the water from our local well which is about a half-mile away.  It’s about as far from my place here in Njala as my house in West Chester was to my office on the WCU campus.  There I pump it into a bucket and tote it back to the house where I first run it through the nifty filter Peace Corps provided.  There are two ceramic “candles” in the top container that rid the water of approximately 98% of its impurities. 

Our PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer) told us to make certain the water is pure, we only need to add a couple of drops of bleach, let it sit for fifteen minutes, and it’s 100% safe to drink. Unfortunately, they forgot to give us the bleach and the dropper when we left headquarters so I am just using the end of a spoon and dribbling the drops that way; the eye-dropper is on the way…or so they say!

What do I use for cooking?  Well, I cheat a bit here.  The PCMO said that boiling water for three minutes also makes it safe so I just use my filtered water (98% pure) and make sure to cook whatever it is in the pot for at least the requisite three minutes but it’s always longer.

The truth is, unlike my cooking in the U.S., I have a rather bland diet here.  The reason is primarily because it is so difficult to obtain, then to keep all the ingredients fresh.  With only that small window of five hours of electricity per day, I can keep some things cool in my little fridge, but I certainly can’t have milk, eggs, butter or any of the other things I would normally use for a gourmet feast on hand.  So, I have a boring diet of hot cereal, either Muesli or oatmeal, for breakfast.  I make sure to add dry milk for the calcium and protein and top it off with local bananas.

For supper I use a base of rice, beans, and bulgur wheat which provides complete protein and then add whatever veggies I am able to scrape up for added zest.  It’s amazing what an onion, some garlic, or a chopped carrot can do when you’re used to only the dry ingredients.  

I tell you, if it ain’t hot peppers, palm oil, or salt, it ain’t Sierra Leonean so I’m sort of stuck with the aforementioned…but only for another 10 months!  But then again, won’t a juicy burger and a few beers at Kildare’s taste all the better when I return?