Splish sploosh was the sound the water made as it dropped into the brown puddle of water—the brown sea.
Hamza quickly scooped a pail of water from the sea and ran into the hut. “Papi” he said, “I don’t want to have my bath with this water.”
“My son, welcome to Kwazoma village,” his father responded. “That’s our only source of water here. After living in Zaria for five years, I know this is strange to you, but this is the water we drink, and bath, cook and wash with ooh.”
“What? Papi!” Surprise written all over his face. “This brown water! How do you even drink this? I can’t believe this. So, what has happened to the money I’ve been sending for your monthly upkeep?” Hamza asked his father.
“My dear, I’m the only one who is taking care of Zuma and Zuri since the death of their mother. I’m responsible for their education and general upkeep,” answered his father.
Papi’s first wife died six years ago during the war between Kwazoma village and Kwe village. Shortly after, Hamza was adopted by missionaries to go to Zaria and study, where he lived with an elderly couple.
Three years later, Papi married another wife who gave birth to twins—a boy (Zuma) and a girl (Zuri). Shortly after their birth, she passed on. So, Papi had to raise Zuma and Zuri all by himself.
“Hmmmm, Papi! I’ve heared you and I feel your pains.”
As they spoke, Zuma ran to scoop a cup from the bucket of water. Gulp, gulp! He drank it right away and burped.
“Ah!” shouted Hamza, obviously in shock.
“Why did you scream that way?” Zuma asked.
“Never mind, “Hamza responded, trying to hide surprise. “What class are you in now?”
“Primary two,” Zuma answered, with a big smile plastered on his face, revealing his missing tooth. Hamza smiled in return.
Zuma quickly chipped in a request, asking Hamza to take them to school the next day.
“Yes!” shouted Zuri (the friendly one), as she sat on his lap.
“We go to school in a canoe, and the journey usually lasts about ten to fifteen minutes. And you’ll be the one to paddle the canoe for us,” Zuri said.
“Okay. It’s a deal,” Hamza said in agreement while trying to mask his surprise about their means of transportation.
“Yaaaaaaaay!” shouted Zuri, as she jumped down, running after Zuma.
“Papi, we need to fix this problem,” Hamza said.”
Papi answered, “We’ve had some government officials come around to investigate the problem. They’ve even provided and fixed filters in the sea at strategic positions and have also ensured there are adequate taps and wells dug in the community. But the clean water only lasted for a day. Even the next day, water from the tap was brown or ‘spicy water’ as Zuri fondly calls it anytime she fills her water bottle for school.
“You see, a lot of children have died of diarrhea because of this water, especially those with weak immune system. Even some elderly people, as a result of this ‘spicy water’ have lost their lives. And sometimes, in the evenings, we see floating bodies on the sea.”
“Ah! But what could be the cause of these deaths?” asked Hamza.
“Well, my son it’s due to dizziness from dehydration, fever, watery stools that contain blood and so on.”
“That’s true oh, Papi! Eating or drinking water that contains certain types of bacteria or parasites leads to diarrhea. This problem may also be called food poisoning. Things cannot continue like this, else, the population of this village will be wiped out in no time. Infact, all the farm produce, huts and possessions will be overtaken by the neighbouring village.”
“My son, even the elders of the community are all aware of this, including the Emir.”
“Okay. But, to what end? What’s the use of them just knowing if there is still ‘spicy water’ in all the water sources? Something must be done or else Kwazoma will soon become extinct. I can’t stay here for more than two days ooh, Papi. I need return to Zaria to help my sponsors.
“The holiday was only for a few days. But I hope to help this village as long as I’m in Zaria. Papi, take my words for it—I’m committed to the welfare of Kwazoma. It’s our heritage, and I’ll be back soon to do what I can to help,” Hamza said with determination.
The End!
