Not a Drop to Drink
Some, if not most of you, already know about this awesome campaign hosted by the fabulously amazing Kat Brauer. She teaches, she bakes, she crits, she lives in Japan, AND she’s saving the world a drop of water at a time! (Kat - you are sort of living my dream life!)
Kat's goal was simple -- simple in the sense that it was powerful, yet easily understood. In her words: "I hope to raise $5000 for charity: water through the proven generosity of the online writing community via Crits for Water".
I was pretty much all ready to jump up on that bandwagon and had diligently set aside a portion of my salary for a few months now.
All that meant was that I had to cinch in my belt a little tighter and keep my wallet shut a little more often. But hey, I was saving lives right? And on top of that, I get to request crits!
Even so, the scenario was far removed from my own experiences. In my part of the world, water seems abundant. We get torrential downpours fairly frequently, and once in a while, roads flood. On weekends, I’d head out of the city for my parents’ home in the suburbs, which looks like a rainforest retreat with its lush green foliage and the mini-waterfall complete with a pond full of koi. On a typical day, I’d have half-hour showers and leave half-empty bottles /glasses around the house.
The humidity in the atmosphere is 70 - 90%.
So you can imagine how pampered I am when it comes to water.
Sarah mentioned how she tried imagining what a day without water would feel like.
Guys, I get to experience TWO days without it.
Yesterday, we found out from the newspapers that our water supply would be cut off for two days due to repair and maintenance works. Starting YESTERDAY.
Yeah, that’s right - our water supply was being cut off without ANY forewarning!
Thankfully, we had heard rumours a day prior that this was going to happen, so we had time to fill up two large pails to the brim the night before.
It wasn’t so bad yesterday though. The water supply was being cut off from 8am onwards, so I got up early to shower, make my morning coffee and generally went about my morning ritual as usual. After work, we had dinner out. All in all, a typical day.
This morning though…
Oh, this morning.
It was hard. Harder than I expected it to be.
Every move in my morning ritual was a conscious decision to conserve as much water in our tank as possible. To make matters worse, the Scarlet Lady is visiting me this week. Girls, you know how big a hassle that is.
Everything from brushing teeth to showering to answering nature’s call became a big deal.
How much water do I use? How much is too much?
I love big shower heads that pour big fat droplets of water so that it feels like I’m in a torrential downpour.
This morning though, I had to let my shower dribble pathetically while I almost kissed the wall to catch the droplets on my back. To wash my face, I used a damp cloth so as to save more water.
Perhaps I’m being a little extreme. But today really drove the point home of how precious water actually is.
The more I think about it, the more I realise how much I’ve taken for granted. Much of my water consumption is a luxury; it’s a luxury to be able to shower, or soak in a bath; it’s a luxury to listen to the murmur of a mini-waterfall, to gaze upon a pond full of koi; it’s a luxury to be able to even make a bowl of soup.
It’s a luxury to have all these things when some people don’t even have access to life’s most basic need - clean water.
It is horrifying to think that in some parts of the world, there are people who sacrifice time and effort, walking for miles and risking their lives and wellbeing in the process, just to collect water.
But this isn’t a lost cause. There are things we can do to alleviate this situation. And if you, like me, are as saddened and horrified by this scenario, then please do donate to Kat’s campaign. The campaign closes end of this month, so you have about a week left to change people’s lives!
And even if you aren’t in a position to donate today, do check out Kat’s donation site anyway and browse around the charity : water site. If anything, you’ll be able to see what a difference even a small amount can have in changing people’s lives, and what awesome things we could effect collectively.
So let's do this, guys!
Let's change a village :)
