A 10 Mile Walk
I met Senibui under a tree,
which provided a small relief from Ghana's blistering heat.
She had just finished collecting water from the river, alongside her neighbors.
Three months ago, Senibui's daughter, Faustina, fell ill.
The only health clinic is 15 KM (9 miles) away. Her brother-in-law gave them a ride on his motorbike, over bumpy dirt roads that can wash away in the rainy season.
The nurse at the clinic handed her medicine, but instructed it must to be taken with 1 liter of clean water.
But Senibui doesn't have clean water at home.
Ironically, the health clinic doesn't have clean water either.
So Senibui did what any mom would do.
She woke up early the next morning. Left her kids in the care of relatives (Faustina still feverish, without medicine). And she walked 5 miles in the other direction, to the nearest town with clean water.
There, she bought two pouches of water, totaling 1 liter. And walked 5 miles home.
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