Water

Over the last 10 days we've had just half a day of running water, where you turn on the tap and water comes out. For four of those days, the whole of Iten had no water either. So we buy bottles of drinking water, and our landlady brings us emergency 70-litre barrels of water, which stand outside the kitchen door where they are closely monitored. For most other people though, they have to go and fetch water, either from a neighbour's bore hole, or from the river.

Even though I knew we had no water, it took a few days before I stopped instinctively going over to the sink and trying to turn the tap on. We've had to prioritise our water usage, with cooking and washing up at the top, and making perfume, a favourite game of Lila and Uma's, at the bottom. Even so, it's surprising how quickly we get through 70 litres.

The clothes washing has come to a halt. Flora washes the clothes by hand (very few homes have a washing machine here), and this also uses a lot of water, especially as Uma and Lila like to wash their dolls clothes at the same time. Bath time has become tin basin time, like the olden days, with a tub in front of the fire, except without the fire.

One night there was an almighty thunder storm and the rain came pouring down. In our new water-conscious state we were busy putting out barrels to collect it in. For us, all of this is a novelty, part of our 'Kenyan experience', but for many people here, including some of our neighbours, there is no running water, ever.