A Note on Omeva

Omeva, which is Otjiherero for water, is unique in Opuwo. Lately it has been, for the most part, running when I need it in my house, but only sometimes at Will’s place (the bathtub faucet is his only source of water, whereas I have several sinks and a shower). Sometimes the water shuts off for no apparent reason at any given time. Usually from about 8pm until about 5am, there is no running water, period. Whoever is in charge of water shuts it off. Infrequently, they will fix the pipes and there will be no water during the day. Thankfully, as of yet I have no funny stories about getting soapy in the shower and having it stop, but I’ve also learned to keep a stock of full 5-liter bottles in my bathroom. Additionally, the water here is full of lyme and magnesium and other funky things that upset American stomachs. They have been working on the water though, and I think it’s better. I drank some and it didn’t give me any problems, but now I’m using a Brita filter that the previous volunteer so graciously left behind. (I started out on bottled water but I drank about 5 liters a day, which at that rate would’ve cost me over $75 a month.) I was concerned about cholera as it is apparently a big problem here, but I think that issue is in regards to those who try to drink from or are more exposed to the rivers and streams (namely the Himbas). I don’t know how to say this nicely, but the rivers and streams here are atrocious—people use them as their bathrooms and trash bin, and as a result, in the worst of places they are often the most foul-smelling and toxic-colored sources of water I have ever seen. (The toilets here, especially in schools, are frequently out of order, and there is no affordable trash removal system to speak of.) I know that drinking water is really healthy, especially in a climate like this one, but everyone here is amused by my Nalgene and asks me with a smirk if I like to drink a lot of water. Nobody here drinks very much; one learner told me she gets by on an estimated 1 liter a day, which was all the more shocking because we were returning from a sunny, sweaty day of playing sports in the town field. It would seem that drinking enough water is something that we learn (how many Americans have had the phrase “Eight 8oz glasses of water a day” hammered into their brains) and is perhaps more determined by culture than we realize. Either way, I’m glad I have a fridge here stocked with filtered water, milk, fruit juice, and sometimes, my latest obsession—orange Fanta.