Life at the Borehole by Muli
The daily routine that most of us are familiar is getting up early to get water. Of course, clean water is necessary for good health, as Audrey Hepburn once said: “Water has always been a constant in our home due to our suffering.”
Most individuals would wait for their turn to gather water by spending their nights at the Borehole. They could play soccer during the day to pass the time as they waited for their turn to get water. This was analogous to wait for your clothing to be ready, while reading a magazine at a laundromat.
To maintain the line, I would go to the Borehole early in the morning and leave one of my jerricans. This would often occur about 3 or 4 in the morning, when some individuals and I would leave one jerrycan at the borehole, go back to sleep, and return throughout the day to claim that it is now my time to draw water because I my jerrycan has been at the Borehole since early in the morning. A lot of men would typically do this, while women would go to the Borehole early in the morning with five to ten jerrycans and stay there until they had drawn water.
Similar issues affect individuals who leave their jerricans early in the morning or later in the day to draw water, as well as others who are unable to get up early enough to do so since there is no one to maintain order. The most intriguing part is that, if you maintain your position in line with one jerrican, you may bring as many jerry cans and basins as you like and draw water in defense since you have maintained your position in line with one jerrican. Even though disputes frequently arise at the borehole, people have continued to live that way.
These things all happened as a result of Dzaleka’s inadequate water supply. Every day, the Borehole is in operation. There will always be people getting water from the Borehole. Conflicts worsen because there is no order at the Borehole. Everyone claims their turn to get water from the Borehole: ”It’s my turn.” Everyone would remark, “I’ve been here since four in the morning.” No one is certain who arrived before whom; therefore, this assertion usually sparks debate. When confrontations become very heated, the community leader steps in and closes the borehole, having an impact on even non-combatants who were innocent.
The amusing aspect is when individuals leave jerrycans at the borehole to maintain their position in line. Their jerrycans are stolen by others. People started leaving broken jerrycans at the Borehole as a result, coming back later in the day with more jerrycans to draw water. Other individuals, especially adults, would get enraged by this and refuse to draw water in the jerry cans that came later only because they left one broken jerrican as a line. These people would get orders from me with muscles to only collect water from the jerry cans they left at the borehole, not the jerry cans they brought later. and this would result in a conflict.
Water from boreholes has been a major problem. Due to water problems, women and young children sleep fewer hours. To obtain water, the men spend about 8 hours a day at the borehole, starting at 4:00 p.m. and working until late at night. However, because of the water, kids have started disrespecting seniors. If an older person was not a family member, a youngster might refuse to even give him or her water to drink after a long day of waiting for it. All these have been an issue due to insufficient water supply.
14 January, 2023
