When the moon is in the Seventh House
And potable water has gotten scarce
May peace guide the planets
As we pray for electricity to the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius
The stanza above is just a play on the lyrics of "Aquarius" from Hair the musical. This is quite apt to what I'm going to share today: my experience of being a water bearer/carrier in the aftermath of Typhoon Odette in Cebu City.
I have already shared a bit about this experience in my previous blog post; but I would like to share more about it to let people know about it and for me to make sense of my experience, hence this article.
Since our water supply had been cut off on the afternoon of December 17, 2021 (Thursday) before Typhoon Odette made landfall in Cebu, fetching water has been quite a challenge.
At first, Mama would pay someone to help carry the water for her. She would also fetch the water herself. They went to the water source (a water district pipe that was still working) that was about almost a kilometer away. By weekend, she delegated her only son to help her with this daunting task.
These boys have been working since early morning, and it was dusk when I snapped this photo.
When the brother went back to work on Monday, I took over in helping Mama in fetching water aside from going to the groceries and cooking. (Mama, my sister, and I take turns in the kitchen).
This time, we got a nearer water source: Grand Con Restaurant. The establishment was kind enough to share their deep-well water with the residents of Barangay Lahug and Barrio Luz. They also had an extra huge water tank lent by the local police (they used it during the COVID-19 lockdown when they were stationed there, and they haven't removed it yet so people could use it).
Aside from the free water and it being nearer, Grand Con also has a wide parking space where we could properly line up our water containers. There were up to four water hoses with two lines each. While waiting, we would sit under the shade of the building.
I found out that there was a better Internet signal there, so I also drafted and published my article about kani salad while I was there last Tuesday, December 21. You can check it out in my profile.
Those who were strong enough would carry the large water containers (18-20 liters each) on their shoulders. School-age children also helped with the smaller bottles. Others would bring carts and strollers.
I had a book cart that I used in school before (the yellow one in the photo), but it got broken eventually because it was only made of plastic. Good thing, our neighbor lent us their baby stroller. They are no longer using it since their child is already nine years old.
So I would push it with one gallon of water at a time. I would ask my sister or my mum to watch the rest of the containers. Sometimes, we'd take turns too. But yesterday, I took six trips, so my arms were sore by evening.
By the way, an additional water source has been temporarily provided by the water district just across Grand Con. It's more convenient because I don't need to cross the street with all the heavy traffic in my way. But we would line up along the street, so my borrowed stroller was almost run over by a van. 😱 Good thing, someone pulled it away before I could react. 😅🙏
I went there yesterday afternoon, but nobody could assist me, so I paid a child Php 5.00 for each container as long as he'd keep an eye on them. I had three. Mama arrived when I went back for the second container and took over watching them, so I sent the boy home (I still paid him in full even when Mama took over).
As challenging and exciting as it could be, I am still glad that our water supply at home was finally back early this morning. We don't need to fetch water from Grand Con or Cabantan St. anymore. Mama was so happy that she took a nice long shower. It's been a week since! 😂
The water was on from 2 to 8 AM, so we have delegated Papa to fill the containers when the water is on. He's a night owl, so he doesn't mind.
As of this writing, we still have a problem with drinking water suppply, but we're still thankful for the recent development. Hopefully, electricity would be back in our area by Christmas. Perhaps Santa Claus can help the electric company guys. They'd surely appreciate riding on his sled. 🎅
It's almost Christmas, my dear fellow Hivers. Wherever we are in the world, whatever is our circumstance, whether we celebrate Christmas or not, I would like to wish us all a happy and abundant season. ❤🥳🎅🎄🎉
Hugs! 🤗
You may read more about me and my interests in my first article: Get to Know April: A Self-Intro Blog
Check these out for more of my travelogues of Indonesia:
- Selamat datang di Padang! (Welcome to Padang!) | Island Hopping in Sumatra
- An Ode to a Lost Love | Bukittinggi Memoirs
And I've also shared a food blog: Soto Betawi: The Search for the Ultimate Indonesian Food
Feel free to follow me to read more about my adventures and creative writing endeavors.
