Two years ago, I traveled to Tanzania to oversee two water and sanitation projects. I stayed at a convent that did not have running water or electricity. Each morning, I would wake up and walk into my bathroom to brush my teeth and to “shower” (the shower consisted of me dumping a pitcher of water over my body). I had this luxury because in my bathroom there were huge buckets filled with water. Thankfully, I did not have to fill up the buckets due to the fact I was a guest and probably would not have been able to lift the filled buckets. At night, if I wanted a hot shower, the nuns would boil water for me to bathe in. To me as an American, this was “roughing it.” To the Tanzanian nuns, this was a daily routine.

The nuns did all the work to make the convent as self-sufficient as possible. They milked cows, raised pigs, tended to chickens and rabbits, farmed, cooked, and cleaned. These are difficult tasks in themselves but with the added complication to collect water these tasks became arduous. When the nuns needed it, they filled large buckets of water from a nearby stream, which they then carried back on their heads (each bucket holds around ten gallons of water.)

It was during my stay at the convent that I became overtly aware of the need to conserve water. My routine did not undergo large changes because the nuns provided water for my basic needs which included washing my face, hands, body, and flushing a toilet. Since they provided the water, I did not want to seem ungrateful by senselessly using all the water in my bathroom. Therefore, I tried to use such little water that the nuns would only have to replenish my supply every four days or so. I found that I could use less water and still carry on with my daily routine. Since I have returned to New York City, I find myself still adhering to water conservation by turning off the faucet when I’m brushing my teeth or washing dishes. Next time you run the faucet without being at the sink or turn on the shower without stepping in, remember that many people consider water to be a luxury and do your part to conserve water.

On one of my days visiting Tanzania, we took a trip to see an all-girls boarding high school that was in-process of being built. I thought an all-girls school was very progressive for the community and I asked Sister Jane, “Why just girls?” She replied, “If you educate females, then the whole family will become educated.” No truer words have been spoken but that is a subject for another blog.

The Sisters are also involved in supporting local community initiatives. They bake hundreds of little bits of fried dough and then sell them at the local high school to raise funds for numerous causes. These “donuts” are quite delicious and normally sell out daily. The Sisters’ mission is to help people and it shows in their daily activities.

On another day trip, we visited a priests retirement home. The grounds had a nicely landscaped yard complete with beautiful flowers and green grass. The area was surrounded by a huge wooden fence akin to a castle wall and a security guard was positioned at the entrance. Inside, the building was layered with Italian marble and contained a beautiful chapel. Huge water tanks located outside the main door provided running water. Unfortunately, we did not get to meet any of the priests that were living there as there were only two full time inhabitants. The rest of the rooms were empty until guests came to visit. Overall, it was an impressive facility and would be considered luxurious to most Americans.

Of course, we were not in America or any other first world country. This opulent compound was located in rural Tanzania where less than a mile away hundreds of people were living without running water and in poor sanitary conditions. In the United States, it’s easy to take running water for granted and it can be difficult for people living in western nations to understand how precious clean water is when it is so readily available. The contrast between the priests’ retirement home and the surrounding dusty, brown earth was stark. I had trouble reconciling the resources consumed by a handful of people when these valuable, life-saving commodities could be used to help so many more rural villagers.

The mission of Gram Vikas USA is to help bring clean water and sanitary conditions to disadvantaged rural communities. We achieve our vision using the MANTRA model and a large component of that model deals with social equality. My experience in Tanzania reaffirms my belief that all people, regardless of class or status, deserve access to clean running water.