The capacity of humans in the face of adversity is quite something.
There are times when, whatever your situation, life feels a little bit tough. When the odds seem stacked against you. When something comes and kicks in the stomach, knocking the wind right out of your sails.
That’s life right?
Which is why, when you see a community, pulling together, pulling out all the stops, making change happen – despite enormous challenges, we need to stop and admire.
This week, like the week before, and the week before that, the water situation has continued to get worse, just as it will next week and the week after that and the week after that. Every week, the struggle will get harder and harder until the day comes when The Big Dig will have raised the £1.2m needed to bring water gushing from the ground – not just in Bokola and Kaniche, but across rural Malawi.
Close your eyes, just for a minute and think, think really hard, about what it would be like to collect water, to drink, from a dried up river bed. You can’t imagine it can you – you just can’t, now, take a look at the collapsed scoop hole in Bokola and just try to picture yourself having to delve into that hole to get enough water for you, your family, your children…
Is this really so in 2012?
How can it be then, that the people suffering this massive injustice, can be so utterly determined, dedicated, committed to get and make do. To put every ounce of energy in their bodies into digging the hard cracked earth to build latrines?
Take these two women – Mary Mbena and Grace Rabson. The first a 22 year old single mother of two, living with HIV, digging her the ground to build her very own latrine for her and her two girls.
The second, a 62 year old grandmother, preparing the ground to make the bricks to surround her latrine. It’s July, it’s the dry season, the ground in Malawi is hard, untouched by water since April. It’s back-breaking work.
It’s not just the women. Men, like the wonderful Mr. Khombe and boys, including Howard Mustaf, the kid with the million dollar smile, have shown their participation too. In fact, Mr. Khombe, showed us the very first completed latrine this week, whilst Howard helps out in the building of a latrine to support his dad.
Men, women, kids – a concerted effort in the face of such huge adversity. Inspired by their efforts? If so, please share, put it on your facebook, tweet it via twitter - tell anyone and everyone know. I hope they’ll be inspired too.
Thanks to everyone who has engaged this week, keep watching, keep being part of something amazing and keep being amazing yourself.
Angharad
