It’s just too easy to see what someone else is doing wrong. It could be how they are raising their children, growing their crops…or in my case, how they are transporting their water.
What’s wrong with this picture? Nothing, if you live in this country. Everything, if you don’t. Carrying water in South Sudan. Picture from The Anglican Relief and Development website.
Most houses in the United States have running water. Travelling to Africa and Asia serves to remind you that this is not normal.
In Rwanda, for example, a line of women get their yellow jerrycans filled at a tap manned by a couple of men. In Kolkata, India, women swarm a truck carrying water to fill pails. They have to carry them back home. Many of them learned to balance 45 lb loads on their heads as they walk smoothly over over rough ground (no sidewalks). It is a physical feat that would test athletes on one of our "gladiator" shows. In the 3rd world, it’s what women and children do daily, if not more.
Wouldn't this help? An engineer (your's truly) attempts to solve what he thinks is a water carrier problem.
Easy enough to say give them pipes and running water. The engineer in me wants to make a wheeled device they can tow. Two cheap bicycle wheels for stability, carry two jerrycans, rolling is easier than carrying, right?
For Gods sake, can't we do something to help these people?
Who Asked You?
“What exactly is the problem?" says a well wishing Canadian. "These women need to fetch the water." She is echoing the response of Kenyan women she has heard. “These women don't mind what they are doing. There is a social scene at the tap. They take their kids with them. It’s an outing.”
In short, they are used to it. Leave us alone. You high minded westerner. You don’t get us.
When people get used to something, even if it was perceived as difficult at first, they will accept it. Some will even fight to keep it. Water carrying has been around since there were wells, so carrying the water is accepted as the norm. Why change it?
But, come on now, I have to argue. Even water carrying has changed. A society that may have used hollow gourds, or earthenware container, switched to plastic container. In fact, jerrycans seemed to have “revolutionized” water carrying in some countries.
I am reminded of the history of the Golden Gate Bridge, offered to help people who used ferries to span the inlet to San Francisco Bay. It was resisted by many. Ferry owners didn’t think there was a problem so why build an expensive bridge?
Beat It -- And Take Your Condoms With You
Go to Africa and insist any labor saving invention be immediately accepted is to look like every arrogant white person who has the better idea and no clue. They already get so much of that.
The biggest slum in Africa, Kibera, swarms with do-gooders in NGOs (non governmental agencies), who want nothing more than to help the poor people. The slum dwellers have learned to take advantage, often enlisting in multiple hygiene classes to learn how to wash their hands. The NGOs compete with each other for hand washers and some offer fees so people show up. A light skinned reporter is told to go back to Sweden (he was not Swedish) with his condoms. Apparently, Africa is awash with condoms because we all know the trick to stopping the spread of AIDS.
Comments