In Taiwan we are blessed with convenient water supplies. True, we occasionally complain about water shortages and rationing, but most times when we need water we can just take a few short steps to the kitchen or bathroom. It is difficult for us to understand the hardship that people in other parts of the world are suffering because of inadequate access to clean water.
在臺灣，我們很幸福有便利的水源供給。的確，我們偶而會抱怨著缺水和限水，但是大多數的時候，每當我們需要用水時，只須走幾小步路到廚房或浴室就可以了。我們很難理解，世界上其他地方會有人因沒有足夠的管道獲取清水而受苦的艱苦狀況。
Suppose you faced a long daily walk up a steep hill to fetch the water you need and carry it back home on your head. Women in parts of Africa often have little choice but to trek long distances to collect water for their families. Scola Letena is a housewife in Samburu County, in northern Kenya. Most of the time, the only way she can get water is to visit a small spring in the mountains. She usually sets off for the distant spring early in the morning with a ten-liter container.
試想你每天需要面對一段漫長行走，要向上沿著一個陡坡去取你所需要的水的，並將它放在頭上扛回家。在非洲某些地區的女性經常別無選擇，只能長途拔涉為家人取水。Scola Letena 是一位在北肯亞山布魯郡的家庭主婦。大部分的時候，她取水的唯一方式就是去到山裡的一個小泉水處。她通常清晨一大早就帶著十公升的容器，出發前往那遙遠的泉水處。
Scola's journey is a difficult uphill hike through dry and rocky terrain. It is also filled with danger because wild animals such as lions drink from the spring, and venomous snakes sometimes cross her path. To make matters worse, on the way to the spring, Scola is at risk of attack from bandits who would rob her of the few belongings she carries. The return trip, though mostly downhill, must be made very carefully and slowly as she tries to balance a heavy container on her head.
Scola 的旅程是一段穿越乾涸與崎嶇地形的艱難上坡徒步之行。這一路上也充滿了許多危險，因為像是獅子等野生動物會在泉邊飲水，而且有時會意外碰上毒蛇。更糟的是，在前往泉水的路上，Scola 面臨被強盜攻擊的危險，他們會搶走她帶著的那些少少的財產。回程的路途，雖然大多數是下坡，但因努力要平衡頭上沉重的裝水容器，也必須小心緩慢行走。
Scola is only one of many women who are striving to cope with the difficulty of finding clean water. Six kilometers is the average distance an African woman is forced to walk in order to collect water. In the dry areas where Scola lives, it is much longer. Eight out of ten homes in northern Kenya are without running water and the few natural water sources that they can use are regularly polluted by waste from wild animals.
Scola 是眾多努力要應付汲取乾淨水的困難的女性之一。一般非洲女性為了汲水而被迫要走的平均距離是六公里。在 Scola 居住的乾燥地區，距離會更長。北肯亞十戶有八戶沒有自來水，而且他們所能使用的少數天然水資源也經常受到野生動物的排泄物汙染。
Yet not everyone in Kenya is without hope of getting better access to clean water. Aid volunteers have helped build concrete shelters at some springs and lay pipes to bring water to public faucets. Besides, sand dams are being constructed to help villagers collect much more rainwater. These walls are built across rivers out of rubble and cement. They are a cheap, low-tech, and low-maintenance method of establishing a consistent water supply.
然而，並非肯亞的每個人都沒有希望能更容易取得乾淨的水。援助的志工已經協助在某些水源點蓋水泥庇護所，並安置水管將水帶至公用水龍頭。除此之外，也正在蓋砂壩來幫助村民收集更多的雨水。這些砂壩是用碎石和水泥橫跨河流而建。它們是一種價格低、技術與維護成本需求低的建立穩定供水的方法。
Unfortunately, there are still many women in Africa like Scola who have to make long and dangerous treks to collect water. Though efforts are being made to ease their burden, it could be a long time before they are able to take advantage of the convenience and benefits of clean water that the rest of us take for granted.
很不幸的，非洲仍有許多女性像 Scola 一樣必須長途跋涉去汲水。雖然人們仍然持續地努力來減輕她們的負擔，要讓他們能利用我們其他人視為理所當然的乾淨水的便利與好處，可能還要很長的一段時間。
