Blog 15: Janet

Today, we returned to the village from Fes. I wasn’t sure what to expect. The first time we arrived, everyone was so excited and welcoming. I felt like we were all instantly friends. When we made it back to the village, 2 little boys, Aiyou and Youssef, ran up smiling and waving enthusiastically. And when we left the bus, each gave us a huge hug. I immediately felt welcomed again :D. We were supposed to go home and hang out with our host family, which we did, but there were also 10 other kids hanging out with us in our front yard, playing hand games, just talking and catching up, and of course, playing Uno. And even though we stayed in the village for more than a week before we had left, there were still so many new faces I’ve never met before and so many new personalities to vibe with. They were laughing and making fun of us as if we had never left, and that welcoming and hospitable energy made me feel so cared for.

This is a sharp transition, but I also feel like it would be interesting to write about the water situation. Ever since Eid, our water supply has been cut off. We still get some water through the sink, but not as much as there was before Eid. We have enough water to drink and do basic necessities, but there’s just less water in the pipes. I’m not too sure why this is the case. But I think it’s most likely because this area is experiencing a drought. That’s why water was cut off before Eid. The village anticipated using a lot of water (to wash the sheep) and perhaps now the village still hasn’t recovered from that water loss, even though it’s been almost a week. But back to the water scarcity issue in this area, I want to paint a picture of its severity in your head. Today, we went to Ifrane on our way to the host community. We stopped there for a little bit and went to visit a lake. Omar told us that this lake was full when he last came here ~10-20 years ago. But when we arrived, there was basically no water in the lake. An abandoned boat was sitting on the dry dirt and the few splotches of water remaining were dark in a murky, almost green like way. Birds were screaming, flying around the lake and perched up in the trees, and ducks were loafing on the dirt floor, heads buried in their bodies, barely moving. I remembered that just a few minutes earlier, while we were walking here, we passed a golf course country club, fresh with green, sparkling grass. Where did they get that water from? They had all that water just to look pretty. Maybe the lake water was siphoned off to water the golf course. And also, 30 minutes away? Where our village was? Our water supply was cut off in order to prepare for one of the most important holidays this village celebrated. And a week later, we still haven’t recovered. 


But then I thought about my time in the city of Fes. We were able to shower every single day, not worrying if we were taking away water from the rest of our family. And I thought of the swimming pool, where we were able to swim any time of the day and then be able to shower right after. Even though I’m experiencing this water drought with the village, I’ll be able to leave, go back to the US and return to Washington, the land of endless rain. I’ll be able to shower, everyday after crew, go to the bathroom as many times as I need, wash my hands for as long as I want. I won’t need to think about my water consumption. That’s my privilege for living in a place with lots of access to water, and also for my socioeconomic status. But what about my host family and my friends here in the village? I’m aware I’m making this drought seem intense. We’re living with an adequate amount of water, we’re simply just not living with excess.


And as far as a solution? I dunno, I could write about how it’s because of climate change (it is) and how we need to stop burning fossil fuels (we should), but I don’t know, that’s too vague. Go volunteer for an organization that deals with water scarcity if you want. But I hope my experience right now will mean that you, a member of the Lakeside community, are more connected to this issue and maybe you’ll do something. Or maybe this issue can be added to your lists of problems because of climate change, and maybe it will be the straw on your camel’s back to instigate something.

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