The reality check was kind of shocking when I recently visited my family in Cape Town.
I haven’t been in Cape Town for a while, but this was a special occasion and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
My grandpa turned 80, which definitely deserved a flight to my home province.
But as we were nearing the landing strip, my mouth fell open.
To me, Cape Town looked like a desert land.
Everything was dry and brown and very, very hot.
And I realise my reaction should not have been so drastic, seeing that I was aware of the situation in the Western Cape, but that the reality thereof struck me way too hard.
This wasn’t the worst part for me.
When I got to my cousin’s house, I felt the first true understanding of their situation.
They used and re-used every single drop of water possible.
It is completely different reading about the issues in the Cape, than actually experiencing it.
It was truly and utterly horrifying the way these Capetonians had to live.
They rarely flush the toilet, like maximum twice a day.
They’ve hooked up devices that, in the event of rain, they can catch and use as much of it as possible.
They savour water as if it’s a precious and priceless metal like gold…
And I suppose it is.
Not just in a drought situation, but in every aspect of all of our lives.
The human body is made up of 60 per cent water and will start dying if without water for about three to four days…
What happens when the earth’s water dries up completely?
I know I may be making a mountain of a molehill, but who says it’s not possible?
Sure, the problem is in the Western Province and outer areas right now, but it may very likely reach us as well.
It may take a few years or it may not, but we are not immune.
I made a decision there and then when I saw people sharing a little water from a bottle to give to their dog, that I will make drastic changes to my everyday habits and lifestyle.
I would urge every single one of you to do the same and use caution when using water, but if you’d take notice, I don’t know.
I already roped in my husband to do the dirty work and fix the toilets in the house so it just fills up half of the tank thingy.
It works wonders.
Apparently, you don’t need such a huge amount of water to flush away uhm… unwanted fluids or whatever.
The other thing I brought into our lives is hand sanitiser.
This is awesome stuff.
Saves you from washing your hands often, but obviously, you need some water and soap cleansing if you have brown stuff on it… like mud. Please, definitely use water and soap then.
I’m talking lighter stuff like before and after eating.
Use some hand sanitiser, really works wonders.
I’m not saying revert to the stone age and drink rainwater, but if we could all just be more conscious of how we use water, it would go a very long way in the future.
