The importance of preserving our water.

I recently drove past one of the informal settlements at Cator Manor Durban KZN, I saw a long queue of people with 25 litres of water cans  lining for water. Suddenly there broke up a huge fight between two women arguing who should get the water first. I told the friend of mine to pull over so that I can try to follow the story. As I was there looking at this "Kasi" drama one thing struck my mind: the importance of water in our  daily occupations and how can one undermine its role in our society.

The research regarding the determinants of World War III have highlighted that the next world war will not be fought over oil, nor mineral resources, or politics, but by the shortage of water. Water is becoming a scarce resource everyday and we are not quick to realise it because we still have water when we flush our toilets, water our gardens and shower during the night. However, this is not the case for the Cator Manor community, as the 25 litres of water is used to cover almost all the occupations within the house, such as bathing, drinking and cooking for the family per day. These are the people that understand how it is to go to a clinic having not had a bath all day due to water insufficiency in the household. These are the people who can use one basin of water for multipurpose reasons, such as bathing, then taking that same water to wash clothes, and thereafter water the plants with it, etc.

A challenge that one may perhaps pose is to start realising that ordinary lives of people somehow depend on the availability of water. An 18 year old girl, for example, will not feel comfortable with herself in a first year University having not had a bath due to lack of water at home. This might not affect only her hygiene, but may also contribute to her low self confidence resulting in poor performance in class.

What we do with limited water reserves is up to us, and what we teach those who have not seen the need to preserve water is working an extra mile. Preserving water is every citizen's responsibility which includes the author and the reader of this blog.