Settling In

done

Yesterday was our first day to go and fetch water, but when we started to take our two jerry cans to the tap our neighbours told us there was no water today. What?! We were caught a little off guard as we figured that water would come everyday at both 8am and 10am…or so we were told. We were mistaken. We wandered back to our hut trying to figure out what to do. As the water from the day before was already used up for drinking and food. While starting to worry a little, our neighbour Alma brought us one of her jerry cans full of water. That is how it works here, if your neighbour needs something you help, you share. So we had one full can for the day. Hmmm, what to use it for? We decided to boil more drinking water and save enough to make some food. Bathing and washing our clothes would have to wait. We prepared the fire and set the kettle on it to start boiling drinking water. All of a sudden women started running by our door with their jerry cans. The taps had started to run. We also got our cans, ran to the taps and stood in line to get water. (See video for our daily walk to the water taps)

This will be part our morning ritual everyday. We must, and everyone must, get water from the taps to survive. Oxfam has provided the water taps and there are staff to release the water once a day. The water does not last long though and this is why everyone was running. If they did not get the water at that time, then they would have to wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow is too late, especially if you have a family at home. Each can is only 20 litres and we have been averaging a can and a half per day. Whereas a family of four would most likely need 3 cans. I asked someone what would happen if the taps were not there? He told me that the women would then have to walk to the bore holes outside of the camp and there would not be enough to provide for the whole camp. Many would be go thirsty.

In addition to water, our giranis (neighbours) have brought us so many different things to welcome us. In the last 24 hours we have received a jerry can full of water, a bundle of otigo (I would compare this to spinach at home), two mangoes, a few onions, a bundle of firewood, covers for our pots and this morning Alma brought us some ocra. We are slowly learning what we need to do to be good Acholi women, but it may take some time Everyone around us has also helped us with starting our fires and chopping firewood. We give our neighbours quite the show when we try to chop firewood…we haven’t quite got the hang of it yet, but at least we can entertain people while learning.

Some more friends have also greeted us in the night. While visiting the toilet two night ago, we opened the door and there we about 30 cockroaches…I screamed and jumped out of the stall. I was not prepared for that. Lara and I had no other choice but to enter with them surrounding us. Although it might be gross for us, everyone else just keeps telling us ‘don’t worry, they will not bite you’. I would rather not have them around at all to be honest. We have dealt with it though, but each trip usually ends with me running out of the stall jumping up. Crazy munus…:)

~Andrea