Ubig, Nsuo, Wata, Water by Sarah Jean Byce (https://www. peacecorps. gov/stories/tubig-nsuo-wata-water/)

Par 1 It goes by different names: tubig, nsuo, wata. In my childhood home, the H2O flowing through our pipes was known best as “water.” No matter what you call it or where in the world you are, water is life. Yet more than 780 million people lack access to clean water. In developing countries, women walk an average of 3.7 miles each day to get water. And some of the world’s poorest people survive on less than 5 gallons of water per day. When your shower head gushes seemingly endless warm water, the water crisis can seem distant and faceless. After joining the Peace Corps and moving to the Philippines, I became intimately familiar with the true importance of water.

Par 2 Tubig [too-big], Tagalog language, Philippines. May marks the end of the dry season here. Many mornings, turning the knob of the sink faucet does little to clean one’s hands. Our drinking water comes from a 12-stage water filter, an expensive investment that lets us drink from the tap rather buying a jug of mineral water. We have 22 bottles that we refill whenever possible. Tonight we’re low; if the water does not return later, we will be down to 6 liters of drinking water for tomorrow. Six liters of water for five people—and it’s 91 degrees Fahrenheit.