Water, Water Everywhere...

We live next to the second largest freshwater lake in the world (Lake Superior is the largest). Yet only 40% of Kisumu residents have piped water. And this piped water is unsafe to drink. We can shower in it and wash our clothes with it, but we'll invite certain unsavory waterborne diseases if we drink it. So Ian and I buy a gas cooker with two burners from the Ukwala supermarket on Odinga Oginga Road, the main street through town. We also buy a set of pots for boiling water. Even though it's 34 degrees outside (100 degrees fahrenheit!!), we boil pot after pot of water and pour them into our VSO-issued water filters, allowing the water to filter overnight. The first batch comes out tasting of the chalky "earth" candles used to purify the water. The water filter literature says the porous "earth" candles capture all those nasty micro-creatures, letting only pure water through to the bottom container. We're told by experienced VSO volunteers the "earth" taste will soon disappear.

We must wash our dishes in boiled water, which is a lot of work. Amazing to have water coming from a tap but not being able to consume it. Kenyans should be outraged--and most are--that the government hasn't set up water systems and treatment plants. Or health care systems or paved roads...the list could go on and on. Lack of quality water is just another reason so many international aid groups come here to assist with improving living conditions and the health of Kenyans.