by Patty Bates-Ballard

Created on: November 22, 2008

This morning when I flushed the toilet, I was very grateful. That's because I've been learning about the water situation in Africa.

In the western African nation of Cameroon, two-thirds of the people live in cities. But less than one in five city dwellers has access to potable water. As a single man, Julius Awafong can afford to buy his water from a tap near his home in the capital city of Yaounde. Since it often contains dirt and other foreign matter, he runs it through a filter he purchased. But many cannot afford to obtain clean water in this way.

I talked with Julius by email about how water corruption holds back the progress of his country and continent. He also sent me photos.

PB: How do most people in your city get water?

JA: The majority of the people in my city go down to the quarter to get their water from streams and wells. Imagine the time and effort it takes to carry heavy tubs of water to your home everyday. But what's worse, the water isn't even clean. The wells and streams are very close to the community pit toilets and bathrooms. Of course people without running water have no indoor toilets or bathtubs. Wells and streams are exposed to the air, so dirt, chemicals and waste materials often corrupt these water sources, especially during floods. In swampy areas of the city where the majority of people live, the squalor and stench are extreme. You can see a video I made of people catching stream water here.

PB: Most Americans don't believe they can function without a warm shower. Forgive my ignorance, but how do Cameroonians bathe?

JA: We carry water in a bucket to the outdoor bathroom - which is for bathing - or some people also bathe in the pit toilet. We take the water from the bucket with our hands to throw on our bodies.

Water Authority Corruption

PB: What would it take to get running water in people's homes?

JA: It's not that there is no system of water running through cities there is. One must pay a fee and submit documentation to the National Water Corporation in order to get water to run through the pipes of a home. Once a resident has followed these steps, the water authority has everything legally required get water running at the home.

Yet even after completing the legal process, a family might wait forever without getting running water, except that they take the additional illegal step of bribing the chain of water connection officials. So not only is the water itself corrupted, but the water authority is rife with corruption. Corruption causes

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