Water Blues

It’s South Africa and “SEVEN TIMES” seems to be a rule of life- Seven Rand to the Dollar; a job takes seven times the time and money originally estimated; meetings are seven times as long as those conducted in the US with seven times the speeches; there are seven meals in a day; and any decision takes seven times the discussion with seven times the number of people consulted. This week the rule of Seven sent me to the brink of total frustration, which was then countered with acceptance and the Serenity Prayer: God help me to change what I can change, help me to accept what I cannot change and give me the wisdom to know the difference.

Last week’s blog described the water shortages and the surprise visit by the Zululand Water Engineer who promised to send a tanker truck with treated water as a clean backup supply for the AIDS patients. He requested that the rain water in the 7 auxiliary tanks be cleaned out for the new supply and promised to provide the truck the same day. The truck did not arrive that day or the next, or the next, etc. However, Tuesday night, seven days later, I passed the tanker truck while jogging on the dirt road into the Hospital. I was incredulous that a filled tanker would attempt the trip at 6pm. I stopped the truck and told the driver that the Hospital had seven tanks that needed clean treated water, especially the one directly behind the wards. (When the taps in the Hospital are dry the nurses must haul basins of water from the auxiliary tanks on the Hospital grounds to the patients in the wards. AIDS patients are especially susceptible to water born infections such as cholera, giardia and cyclospora).

After my jog, I returned to the Hospital and could not find the Tanker Truck. When queried, the security guard motioned in the direction of the high school. I sighed and ran over to the high school in time to see the water overflowing from the top of their single auxiliary tank unto the bare red dirt. I yelled “Mana” (Stop)!!! The driver stated that the guard had told him that the Hospital did not need any water and he should proceed to the high school. The truck was emptying the water on the ground because the driver did not want to make the long trip back to town with an almost full tank. I could barely conceal my anger and told the driver to go to the Hospital and fill the 7 tanks so that the AIDS patients could have access to clean water when the pump wasn’t working or demand exceeded supply. The driver turned his huge truck around and headed towards the Hospital. The guard opened up the gate and the truck headed to the tank closest to the road. By this time it was getting dark and navigating the narrow openings between hospital buildings is tricky even in the daytime.

I ran to the large tank behind the hospital wards and sighed again. It was turned on its side and had a large hole. File (Broken!) The tank had not been prepared for the clean supply as per the plan laid out by the water engineer and staff. Disaster hit again as the tanker truck drove the narrow driveway by the wards and pulled out the low hanging telephone wire protruding from the ward. The tanker topped off two more outlying tanks on the grounds hurried out of the Hospital. The results of this fiasco- no clean water for the patients and no telephone service, probably for seven days until the repairman can make the long trip up the mountain. I was angry for the wasted trip by the water company and the curious set of circumstances that resulted in isipithipithi (total chaos), instead of a short term solution to the water shortage.

The next morning in American fashion, I lashed out at the guard that sent the truck away, the maintenance staff who did not prepare the tanks, and at my coworkers who were nonplussed by the events. This aggravation was not in the best Peace Corps spirit and did not help the staff to solve the problem on their own. By Wednesday afternoon, I felt sadness but my frustration and anger had subsided. The words of the serenity prayer hit home, which I needed to repeat Seven Times!

As for the part of Africa that we can change, albeit small, the computer classes for the Hospital staff have begun. Twenty five employees signed up for the classes which are taught after work, using the 3 office computers with three students taught one on one for eight lessons. The classes have been mixed with some success; two of the four students dropped out due to other commitments after work. However, we will continue to plug in students until we go home on June 28, our close of service date. Hopefully, all of the interested staff will get a chance to become literate with the computer. They will have to practice the typing program on their own. We hesitated to start the computer training, waiting for a training room with training computers, but decided to go with what was available as time is growing short for two short time volunteers.