Look for entire article around Oct. 7
I recently spent four months living in East Africa and studying at a Ugandan College. I took courses with other Ugandan students, and I lived with a Ugandan host family. My family had no electricity or running water. We carried our water for bathing, cleaning and drinking in jerry cans from a neighborhood well.
I had been in the country for three months when my host mom sent me out to find water. The well we normally used was broken. She sent my young Ugandan sister with me. We walked to the college campus knowing that there were sources of water for the students and staff who lived there. We wandered around for a while banging our empty yellow jerry cans into each other making a hollow thunk-thunk noise. While searching for a well or a tap, a university staff member stopped us and asked what we were looking for. I explained that I had no water at my house and we needed to find a tap.
She asked if I meant that I had no drinking water. I explained we were out of all water (a common occurrence in my host home). She raised her eyebrows, “You
have NO water at your house?” she asked. I imagined what she must’ve been thinking. How does an American run out of water? Even in Uganda, Americans live in homes with private wells and water pumping systems.
