Life in Cairo has many twists and turns to it and no two days are quite the same. Since yesterday we have had no water in our building. In fact a few square kilometers of Cairo has no water and I have no idea why. Cairo being the place that it is word travels fast from person to person and rumours exist but we still have no word on when the water will be back. On my way to work I found a huge water fountain spewing out massive amounts of water a few hundred meters away from our house. Go figure!
I have found myself automatically switching on taps in the bathroom and the kitchen just because I’m so used to doing so. The whole episode reminded me of a short documentary I watched recently about the scacity of water in some places and the abundance in other places. There was a chinese man living in a remote rural area who was interviewed about his daily relationship with water. He said that he had never had a shower in his entire life and that he is so jealous of people who take daily showers. Being in need of my daily shower I am starting to have a slight glimpse of the blessing which I so regularly take for granted. I used to be more water conscious, especially around the time when we experienced some water restrictions back home in South Africa, but it quickly fades when the restrictions are lifted.
Currently I am using bottled water to wash my hands and make simple ablutions but am wondering what the less fortunate and unseen individuals possibly right under my nose are doing. It’s amazing how situations like these humble one.
Don’t take your water for granted wether or not it flows in abundance because you never know when it’ll run out!
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