Water everywhere and not a drop to drink
on Sally in Namibia (Namibia), 13/Mar/2009 09:35, 34 days ago
It is the rainy season and once again there are problems with flooding in the north of Namibia. People who have built homes in the oshanas (flood plains) have been evacuated and once more the water is providing plenty of business opportunities for the enterprising– car wash, laundry, fishing, surf board ferry services. Fortunately the College is not near an oshana so the houses are not at risk of flooding but the road around campus becomes challenging with big pot holes full of water.When it rains it really rains– it's torrential and inches can fall in one storm. The thunder is deafening too, literally! I sometimes wonder if my poor little ears can stand it. And of course spectacular forked lightening sending flashes across the sky. The whole storm experience is awesome as long as you are safely inside.The floods can be quite beautiful- especially at the moment when there is a full moon which reflects in the water turning it silver. The landscape is transformed with huge areas of water with lonely trees poking above and sad looking collections of huts and shebeens disappearing under water. The more prepared have built small flood defences but in many cases these are not sufficient as the water rises. Everywhere is green with tall grass waving in the breeze– it is hard to believe that a few months ago I was longing for a glimpse of green, now it's everywhere!People are amazingly resilient during this time– children wade through deep water every day to get to school, families pack all their possessions into a bakkie to find higher ground – I love seeing these bakkies, they are always piled high with furniture and there always seems to be an old meme perched at the back on a plastic garden chair!All the talk is of the floods and when the water is going to come from Angola – this is the seasonal efundja which brings rain water down the rivers and water courses from Angola and is one of the main causes of the flooding rather than just the rains that fall here.I became a more direct flood victim on Wednesday– the floods have damaged a water pipe which is the water source for the whole of Ongwediva so everybody is without water. Luckily I have learnt from earlier experiences and have a stash of 5 litre bottles filled ready for such an eventuality. The response of the town council has been impressive– water tanks have been located at strategic points around the town, including at the front of the college, and long queues have formed with people clutching bowls and any other receptacle they have at their disposal. There seems to be a perception that white people should go straight to the front of the queue – a student asked me for help saying they wouldn't give her water, when I asked why it turned out that the problem was she didn't want to stand in the queue and thought I would go straight to the front for her! I refused and pointed out that if I needed water I would be queuing just like everybody else.I have become expert at washing myself with a teaspoonful of water and am trying to recycle as much as I can. I fear the main casualty will be the garden– typically it has stopped raining just as the water went off so my poor onions, beans, courgettes and cucumbers are suffering in the blazing sunshine. It's ironic that with some people suffering from too much water we are suffering from a drought!Rumours abound on when we can expect the water back– ranging from today to August (!). I guess that means nobody knows for sure.