When the Rains Come

Te Ao Hou, September 1964, Page 15

When the Rains Come When the rains come. Well, we waited two months. During these two months I was ready to move out to a more suitable spot either by a river (some 10 miles away) or to Apia where water is wasted daily by the bucketsful, through dripping taps, gardening hoses or just a ‘take-it-for-granted-attitude’. Water! There's always water in Apia, so why worry? But we stayed. We sent an S.O.S. to the Public Works Department to supply us with water. They arrived most promptly with six 40-gallon drums of water. These they proceeded to fill every three or four days. But horrors! They forgot to scour the shellite, kerosene and diesel out of the drums. Regardless of the precautions one takes with the boiling of impure water, the impurity took its toll. The consequent reactions were carbuncles, abscesses and stomach complaints. Yet we survived. The rain still didn't come. Then the Public Works Department forgot to come. The drums remained empty for days. Did I give up? No! The pioneering spirit in me excelled and I ventured forth to make the best of the situation. I proceeded to collect our buckets (two only), pots and containers, got into the car and travelled to the next village, where we had been told there was an excellent supply of river water. After explaining our plight to the owner, he agreed readily, with much concern and sympathy, to help us. Now we had water …. Yes we had water, but only a very limited quantity, so that I had to devise some method enabling us to bathe, drink and cook, without having to make a second trip in one day.