Now that I am home and have a spent a couple of days laying on the couch, trying to recoup from 20 hours on an airplane, the thing that I am most aware of us is the luxury of hot, clean, water! The first thing I did when I got home, was take a hot shower to wash off the grime of international travel. I then spent my first day home laying in front of the the television drinking a ton of water in hopes of hydrating my tired body. Each time I walked toward my fridge, to refill my water bottle, I was very aware of how easy it was for me to get and drink clean water and in turn thought I would write about in India vs. America.
Before we left for India we spent a long 8 hour day in an orientation class. We were give a great deal of information about what NOT to do while we were India. The list seemed to be a mile long on how to prepare ourselves for the trip, but the information that stood out most (for me) was on how to keep my body healthy while I was so far from home. One of the things that caused concern, was the idea of not being able to drink water (from the tap) while we were there. For a girl who drinks four Nalgene bottles full of water (a day), the idea of being put on a water budget was frightening. Especially because I also knew the weather would be in the mid 80's - 90's.
Although, India has running water, the differences in filtration of water can cause problems for American students. The differences in how water is filtered leaves different bacteria in the water compared to the system we have here in the US. Also, in some cases the water is pumped into the small villages we would visit or NGO locations, so being safe was better than dealing with stomach issues, while visiting India. I have been in this situation before while traveling to other countries, but for some reason (maybe because I was going so far from home) my concern about this issue seemed greater when traveling to India. As it turns out, dealing with lack of clean water did become a problem.
First, it is important to understand that running water in Mumbia is a privilege for most. Previously, I gave a brief look into the slums, but throughout this trip I was constantly reminded of how very wrong my interpretation of the slums were. The most surprising stat on life in the slums is knowing that people living in slums does not inevitably mean there is a lack of money in the family. Instead, the biggest difference of those living in slums verses housing is having reliable resources such as running water, sewage systems, and a lack of waste management services. With 80% of the city of Mumbai living in slums, this is obviously a HUGE problem. While there are some government recognized slums, which means they do have services, most are forced to purchase water and find other means of disposal for waste.
For people in unrecognized slums, there are water trucks that visit and allow residents to purchase water. There are two types of water. First, there is water you purchase to wash clothes, bath, and clean your home. This water is less expensive and is often not filtered. Then the expensive water, the water one needs to survive...it costs more because families purchase it for consumption. It has been filtered and is deemed safe. Imagine if every time you were thirsty you had to contemplate if there was enough water before the next truck came to your neighborhood, or if you had enough water to bath your children before they left for school the next day. Maybe you needed water for the meal you are making to feed your family? Whatever the case, the issue of water is a constant one in the slums.
However, the slums were not the only place that water was a noticeable obstacle to survival. In villages there were areas in which the local people could pump water for their personal needs. We asked one girl if the water was drinkable and she said yes, but our teacher told us we shouldn't drink it because it wasn't filtered. Apparently, our bodies would reject what other bodies thought of as drinkable. This idea made me feel spoiled. Some other issues with the pump, were location and scheduling. For one village the pump was miles away and the water had to be carried back to the village OR in some areas the water only ran for a certain amount of time during the day, due to government restrictions. Meaning, villagers could have two hours to access clean water or maybe four, it just depended on the schedule. Because of these two issues children would miss school in hopes of obtaining water for the family, while parents worked in fields or brick making. Young girls would be attacked on walks to the pump and families would suffer through these tragedies, all in hopes of getting clean water. While others simply went without some days because it was impossible to know when the water would turn on.
As we heard these stories it was hard for many in our group to imagine such a thing happening in our country. After all, it is hard to imagine people not having access to clean water when all we have to do is go into any kitchen and turn on the water, but just because it seems unimaginable doesn't mean it isn't happening with our boarders. There are people living on our streets unable to obtain clean water everyday. Think about this.... how likely are you to invite a person experiencing homelessness into your home to fill up their Nalgene water bottle four times a day. Just the smell or the worry of them stealing probably consumed your imagination as I mentioned it. So you are probably just as likely to do so, as the store shop owner or a restaurant manager. That being said how do you think a person would get water on the American streets... and this scenario is assuming our friend on the street has a Nalgene bottle to fill. Our bodies, all of our bodies, need clean drinking water and it doesn't matter if we are sleeping in a slum in Mumbai, sleeping under a bridge in Denver, or recovering from a 20 hour flight.
Be thankful and kind today! You just never know who is simply in need of a life giving drink of clean water.
Before we left for India we spent a long 8 hour day in an orientation class. We were give a great deal of information about what NOT to do while we were India. The list seemed to be a mile long on how to prepare ourselves for the trip, but the information that stood out most (for me) was on how to keep my body healthy while I was so far from home. One of the things that caused concern, was the idea of not being able to drink water (from the tap) while we were there. For a girl who drinks four Nalgene bottles full of water (a day), the idea of being put on a water budget was frightening. Especially because I also knew the weather would be in the mid 80's - 90's.
Although, India has running water, the differences in filtration of water can cause problems for American students. The differences in how water is filtered leaves different bacteria in the water compared to the system we have here in the US. Also, in some cases the water is pumped into the small villages we would visit or NGO locations, so being safe was better than dealing with stomach issues, while visiting India. I have been in this situation before while traveling to other countries, but for some reason (maybe because I was going so far from home) my concern about this issue seemed greater when traveling to India. As it turns out, dealing with lack of clean water did become a problem.
First, it is important to understand that running water in Mumbia is a privilege for most. Previously, I gave a brief look into the slums, but throughout this trip I was constantly reminded of how very wrong my interpretation of the slums were. The most surprising stat on life in the slums is knowing that people living in slums does not inevitably mean there is a lack of money in the family. Instead, the biggest difference of those living in slums verses housing is having reliable resources such as running water, sewage systems, and a lack of waste management services. With 80% of the city of Mumbai living in slums, this is obviously a HUGE problem. While there are some government recognized slums, which means they do have services, most are forced to purchase water and find other means of disposal for waste.
For people in unrecognized slums, there are water trucks that visit and allow residents to purchase water. There are two types of water. First, there is water you purchase to wash clothes, bath, and clean your home. This water is less expensive and is often not filtered. Then the expensive water, the water one needs to survive...it costs more because families purchase it for consumption. It has been filtered and is deemed safe. Imagine if every time you were thirsty you had to contemplate if there was enough water before the next truck came to your neighborhood, or if you had enough water to bath your children before they left for school the next day. Maybe you needed water for the meal you are making to feed your family? Whatever the case, the issue of water is a constant one in the slums.
However, the slums were not the only place that water was a noticeable obstacle to survival. In villages there were areas in which the local people could pump water for their personal needs. We asked one girl if the water was drinkable and she said yes, but our teacher told us we shouldn't drink it because it wasn't filtered. Apparently, our bodies would reject what other bodies thought of as drinkable. This idea made me feel spoiled. Some other issues with the pump, were location and scheduling. For one village the pump was miles away and the water had to be carried back to the village OR in some areas the water only ran for a certain amount of time during the day, due to government restrictions. Meaning, villagers could have two hours to access clean water or maybe four, it just depended on the schedule. Because of these two issues children would miss school in hopes of obtaining water for the family, while parents worked in fields or brick making. Young girls would be attacked on walks to the pump and families would suffer through these tragedies, all in hopes of getting clean water. While others simply went without some days because it was impossible to know when the water would turn on.
As we heard these stories it was hard for many in our group to imagine such a thing happening in our country. After all, it is hard to imagine people not having access to clean water when all we have to do is go into any kitchen and turn on the water, but just because it seems unimaginable doesn't mean it isn't happening with our boarders. There are people living on our streets unable to obtain clean water everyday. Think about this.... how likely are you to invite a person experiencing homelessness into your home to fill up their Nalgene water bottle four times a day. Just the smell or the worry of them stealing probably consumed your imagination as I mentioned it. So you are probably just as likely to do so, as the store shop owner or a restaurant manager. That being said how do you think a person would get water on the American streets... and this scenario is assuming our friend on the street has a Nalgene bottle to fill. Our bodies, all of our bodies, need clean drinking water and it doesn't matter if we are sleeping in a slum in Mumbai, sleeping under a bridge in Denver, or recovering from a 20 hour flight.
Be thankful and kind today! You just never know who is simply in need of a life giving drink of clean water.
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