Access to taps, showers and even flushing toilets is something that we often take for granted. In our world, there are over 780 million people that do not have access to clean water, never mind water that comes out of a faucet and can be used for whatever you want. This past weekend, in the wake of a leaky water main outside of a neighbour’s yard, my family got a glimpse into what it would be like to live without instant access to clean running water.
On Friday night the city turned off our water in order to repair a leak that had sprung in one of the valves near one of our neighbour’s houses. As a result, my family and several others along our street were given a 15-minute warning; fill up everything you can with water, because you might not have any for up to three days. As soon as the news spread to myself and my parents, we filled the bathtub, several buckets, coolers, bottles and canteens full of water, to supply ourselves with enough water to last for the weekend. As promised, within half an hour, our water supply was shut off. Some of our habits would have to change, at least temporarily.
We learned to live with very little water; from having to heat water over the stove to wash up with, to pouring small buckets of water into the toilet to flush it, our way of life was greatly changed for that short period of time. We wasted much less water and were able to appreciate having water at our fingertips even more. Although I was able to (sort of) step into the shoes of some of the millions of people without access to running water and began to understand the struggles that people in developing countries face every day, I was really glad to be able to take a real shower by the end of the weekend.
Keeping this in mind, I challenge you to try to give up something that you may take for granted every day. Start small, for example not using the dishwasher or the microwave, giving up your phone (to a reasonable extent; if you absolutely need to text or call someone, you can), or taking the bus instead of driving. Although you would still be living with luxuries that many people only dream of, you can learn to better appreciate the little things in life that just make it easier, better connected and generally more enjoyable.
