Sammy

Sammy is one of our drivers. He's the younger Sammy, not the older Sammy.

Sammy is one of the kindest human beings I have ever met in my life. If you called Sammy when he was off of work and you were in trouble, I'd put money on the fact that he'd find you and save you.

Sammy has two sons. Four and Six.

Sammy had a wife. She was killed in a car accident about a year ago.

Sammy works for NYU full time. Sammy can't keep his sons with him because Sammy has to leave his house at 4:30am to pick up Christa to take her to the gym, take us to our classes, and pick Christa up from the gym. Sammy doesn't get home til almost 1am.

In the villages they only turn the water taps on once every two weeks. This is to conserve water around Accra for the new development projects. Sammy is thankful that it comes so often--it used to be once a month. Twice a month he is able to fill up his water tanks with enough water to last him the entire two weeks.

Yesterday Sammy missed his water ration. Instead of turning the taps on between 6pm and 9am, the government turned the water on during the day--as Sammy has no one waiting for him at home, he was unable to fill up his tanks.

When Sammy got home at 1:30am yesterday, he found out that he would not have water. Sammy had to walk 1/2 mile to the tap and carry a 55kilo bucket of water home with him.

Since he is busy driving us places during the week, Sammy can't get water until Saturday morning. He will have to make at least 5 trips to the tap and back in order to have enough water to last him until next weekend.

Here on our lush compound in the richest part of Accra we have water daily. When we don't have water, NYU pays the water company to come in and fill up our tanks. We take 30 minute showers, sometimes twice a day. We let the water run in the sink. We don't turn off the water all the way when we leave for the day. We wash our undirty clothes daily. When we don't have water we complain until they bring the water truck in.

Tomorrow is Friday. On Fridays Sammy is told to take us to the supermarket at 2:30pm. Tomorrow at 2:30pm Sammy will be taking me and a few other people to his house and we will be getting him water in our NYU van. Tomorrow Sammy won't have to walk 1/2 mile back and forth and back and forth. Tomorrow I've rallied up the bucket brigade.

I'm really glad that there are people here that care.