Saturday, May 1, 2010

A Daily Struggle










The provision of basic necessities like clean drinking water and fuel for cooking are time-consuming daily chores for many in Africa.

Often people must travel long distances to fetch water from communal water points or gather wood in the bush, or in dry river beds in arid areas where the only trees grow.

Look at the women carrying water - I would probably collapse after about ten meters with one of those containers on my head.

Running water in my house is something I take for granted and I've felt afraid and insecure when I've had problems with the bore hole on the smallholding and been without water for a few days.

I was going to do a post today on elephants but changed my mind after reading this post by Canadian blogger Joyful

My apologies for the poor picture quality, some of them were snapped from a moving car.


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12 comments:

  1. As you say we take so many things for granted. It is hard when you live in a tin shack and everything is some distance away. I have seen Africans carrying loads that I would not even consider lifting from the ground. Life aint easy for some. Diane

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  2. Thanks Diane - yes, and the two ladies carrying water still manage to be cheerful about it ...

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  3. And people in places like the UK complain non stop about such trivial things like the fact that their benefits aren't higher, or that certain medicines are excluded from their 'free' health cover, or that their local supermarket has 'inconveniently' stopped stocking a certain item ..... they really should come to Africa & learn what hardship REALLY is. A daily struggle just to survive. (Thanks once again for a great African post and pics !)

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  4. Thanks lynda - yeah, I'm also guilty of unnecessary whinging sometimes and, being impatient by nature, I've often been reprimanded for venting my frustration if I have to stand for more than a few minutes in a queue ...

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  5. These are great photos of the daily struggles in Africa. I tell you I no longer complain about the little things. I now see what is real hardship.

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  6. Thanks for the comment Joyful ...

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  7. thanks for the good reminder of what life could be like. The water issue is a big one and a recent National Geographic devoted a special edition to it. You probably can find some info on their site ngm.com
    thanks

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  8. Thanks lisleman - in the future wars will probably be fought over water - if it hasn't already happened ...

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  9. Wonderful post Graham and of course lovely, lovely imsges. You are so right the majority of underdeveloped Africa (and other continents too) "battle" for basics which we take for granted - a great (belated) Earth Day post I think!
    Gena D
    Thinking Aloud

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  10. Thanks for the visit and comments Gena ...

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  11. Hardship is just another word when we do not experience what others have to truly experience - on a daily basis. Too many things we take for granted. Thanks for the images and the reminder:)

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  12. Thanks for your visit and comment Keats ...

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