Ghana, Day 48 (Yesterday) - Our Heroes

Hi Ruth!

I'm still in Ghana, counting the days until you get here!

So, one thing you should know is that you are very lucky.  Not only do Mommy and Grammy and Grampy and Aunt Connie and Sharon and I and lots of other people love you, but as you get older you will realize that there are lots of things about the way that we live that you take for granted.  When the lights go out at home, it's a big deal!  Everyone is surprised.  And Mommy and I keep water in the basement, just in case there is a big emergency, but you almost never have to wonder whether if you turn on the tub faucet, there will be water.

Here in Ghana, water can be a bit more tricky.  I have a big bucket for water that I keep in the bathroom if the water stops flowing for a little while, and I need to get clean or cook some dinner.  But sometimes the water goes out for longer - so far, only once! And I hope it won't happen while you're here.  But it worried me a lot that the one time it happened was right before you are coming.  And after a few days of no water, Dr. Bill and Ms. Theresa and I were starting to run out of water in our buckets!

[Adults, if you really want to read more about the problem, check out this article: Accra Pipes Go Dry]

Part of what made us worried was that we couldn't get anyone to tell us why we didn't have any water!  Or when it would be back.  Some people said that there was construction and a big pipe got broken.  Some people said it was because there was a shortage.  We have big storage tanks for water on top of the building we live in so we can collect water when it is flowing, and we were worried that one of them might be broken.  We didn't know, and no one could tell us.  And the people in charge of us, at the US Embassy, could only tell us that we could move into hotel rooms (though we would have to pay for it).

But, finally, through Dr. Margaret, who Dr. Bill knows, we were able to find someone who said they could arrange a water tanker to come and fill up our tank! [Adults: given that they showed up in a University tanker makes us suspect that the "fee" we paid may have been a bribe.]

They came in a big tanker truck!

From Where in the World is Dad?

And they just hooked up a hose and filled up our big tanks, so we have lots of water for right now.

From Where in the World is Dad?

While they were filling up, another man came by with a yellow jug.  He helped them deal with their hose, and in return they let him fill up his jug.  For a lot of people around here, when the city water goes out, they don't have tanks, and don't have anyone who can get the water truck to come.  They sometimes have to go very far with their jugs to find any water. So we're pretty lucky.

And we got the water man, Mr. Sowah's, number just in case we need him to come again, so we don't have to work just to find out where to get the water from.