Drop drop droppity drop, drop…

It’s been raining more or less consistently since last week. It’s alleviated the drought conditions in Gauteng, but alas, not all the areas are getting this much needed rain.

It means that I don’t have to worry about watering my garden or topping up my pool.

The story is not the same for other areas of the country. Drought conditions have been severe and has hit our farmers rather badly. This isn’t good news for the country. Not being able to grow our own produce means we have to import.

Food prices will go up, and it will affect those who can least afford it the most. Maize is the staple of the majority of South Africans. I checked the price of maize meal in the supermarket and it’s gone up a horrendouns amount.

The price of avocados – and they are supposed to be in abundant supply in South Africa – is exhorbitant. R50 for 2 avocados. Even though I can afford to, I will not, as a matter of principle, buy them at that price.

Brocolli which normally costs about R10 is now costing 3 times more at R30. Again, even though I can afford it, I will not buy it at that price.

Operation Hydrate is a community initiative that has been running since last year to get water to communitues in need. Check their Facebook page here – Operation Hydrate. Here is the link to their website.

They are supporting the sinking of boreholes.

This is the description from their website:

A group of volunteers started #OperationHydrate in response to calls for water from Senekal. The call for assistance drove everyone.

The goodwill from South Africans has been amazing. Everyone is rallying behind #OperationHydrate and millions of litres of water has been distributed already. Massive Social media drove it from day 1. A what’s app group was started by the volunteers and that’s how it grew. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram drove it. Fly Mango, ShopRite, and several other companies joined in to support the campaign.

Our aim is to get water to the areas that are most affected by the drought.

Thus far they have distributed 12 106 500 litres of water. Off course, this is probably not sustainable in the long-term, so they are supporting the sinking of boreholes and so far 20 have been pledged. All of this takes money. To raise money they organise various events and also have the backing of many companies. Apparently it costs about R85,000 to sink a borehole. That’s serious money.

In the Amatole district in the Eastern Cape, the department estimates that “drilling and equipping” 41 boreholes for 36 small villages will cost “R1 million per borehole”. (City Press article)

That’s even more serious money!

So while we in Gauteng battle through flooded streets and overflowing streams blocking off access to some roads, there are other people in other parts of the country who would love to have even half the water that’s falling on our previously parched soil.

Entered in today’s WordPress one-word prompt – Drop.