Water dignifies old age

Doris Maluwasa is 87 years old. She lives in Jordan Village. The years have taken their toll and made her crooked, but she still has her infectious humour.

Doris’ life has been the children, the fields, the animals – and also the constant fetching of water. Today, she still carries home her own water.

Doris Maluwasa

Thanks to the well, Doris can still fetch water every day and retain her dignity.

“Now we have a well. If we didn’t have one, I wouldn’t be able to fetch water myself. I would be entirely dependent on my children and grandchildren,” she explains. “Water means a happy life,” she adds with a big smile.

She says it is not easy getting old. “I remember when we were two in the house helping out. Everything was much easier then,” she says.

With the aid of a bamboo cane, she gets up. She takes her five-litre water container and starts to walk towards the pump again. While she walks, she sings and swings her hips in time to the song. Thanks to the pump she can still fetch water and retain her dignity.