Jerry: the shower in a can

The great advantage of my compound is the existence of water tanks on the roof. This means that the shower flows and we can drink easily without much worry. Other volunteers are subject to the variable flow of the water system, which isn't ideal as temperatures rise.

However, for a few weeks we've been suffering issues in the early evening; slow running taps and sputtering showers. On Friday the water stopped altogether. Although it has come back in the evenings, the limited flow has coincided with very limited electricity so the power to pump water to the roof is missing when the water is flowing and vice versa. The tanks are dry.

Luckily, VSO provide jerry cans for this situation. Which means there's water for bathing filled from the outside tap. It was this technique of jerry can, bowl and cup that rescued my morning's ablutions. The cold water drenches a body thats very hot from dealing with tropical heat and it's fairly refreshing (see also horrible and shocking). It's common for most volunteers and in fact I've used the same in the UK when water was a problem due to an irresponsible landlord. However, today's shower was the first time it was vital here. I just hope power and water work together so that I get less of a shock for the morning.