Jerry Cans

Go anywhere in rural Africa and you’re likely to see jerry cans.  Lots of jerry cans.  They are ubiquitous here.

Woman and child filling jerry cans from a well spout

Pork joint with jerry can

Group of kids with jerry cans

99.9% of the time they are a particular shade of yellow, and while they range a bit in size, those shown here are about standard. I believe they are mainly used for hauling and storing water, but can also be used for things like petrol.

This weekend I have gained an even greater appreciation for the struggles of hauling water in those containers. They are REALLY heavy. I'm in decent shape (even though I don’t exactly go to the gym here) but I struggle to lug them around, and especially to lift and pour from them without making a huge mess. 

Jerry cans used in our kitchen

Yesterday when the generator was out of fuel, I attempted to pour gasoline from a full jerry can into the generator, and even while having my roommate help me by holding the funnel in place, I still managed to pour fuel all down the side of the generator and all over my pants and feet. So I pretty much smelled like petrol the rest of the day (because it was difficult to take a shower and wash my clothes without running water).

Now I’ve been finding myself complaining a LOT about our water being off for the last 24+ hours. Washing dishes by bucket rather than by sink can be a challenge.  And I think I’ve described before the trials and tribulations of showering with a bucket and a cup -- although I must say, for a cold shower, using a bucket and cup is surprisingly far less painful than having frigid water raining down on you from a shower head. Go figure! 

Anyway, as I was lying in bed this morning procrastinating about getting up (because I figured "what’s the rush?  There’s no water or power"), it dawned on me just how lucky we still are in comparison to the great majority of the people who live here.  We have lots of extra water in the house to use for these inevitable times where there is no running water. In addition to the jerry cans, old drinking water bottles are also reused to store extra tap water.  

Extra tap water stored for when there's no running water

So when we need to do dishes, laundry, wash our hands, take a bucket shower, or pour water into the back of the toilet so we can flush it, we can use either these bottles or the jerry cans.  

Fortunately, I don’t have to walk for a mile with a jerry can to a well to get water.  Routinely we see women and children walking along the roadsides carrying these vessels, usually on their heads.  It is both impressive and sad to see people having to take these steps to survive. And then I think of how much I’ve been griping about having to walk 10-15 steps to an area of the house where we have extra water stored.

Fetching water from a well

Little girl with smaller jug of water

We also have plenty of fresh bottled drinking water that will not make us sick when we drink it.  

Our drinking water dispenser

Extra bottles of clean drinking water 

It’s easy to get frustrated by not having the conveniences I’m so used to back at home, but helpful to put it in perspective when I see how much more we have than so many. These are lessons and realizations that I am hoping I can keep in mind when I experience aggravations here and never forget when I get back home.