Not a drop to be found

We are going through a waterless phase. Last Thursday, the water pressure in our taps dropped dramatically and finally trickled off to nothing on Friday morning. Much to our surprise, we were told that no water had been supplied to certain suburbs in Dar since Wednesday morning. We live in one of those suburbs without water, but we hadn't noticed the cut in the supply immediatly because of the reserves in the water tanks on the roof of our apartment building. We were told the water would come back on Saturday evening, but there was nary a drop to be seen. Apparently, it will be back this evening. In the meantime, we discovered a "water man". The water man has a rough, push cart brimming with bright yellow jerry cans, which sweat in the heat and slop water unevenly down their sides. All the containers in our apartment have been roped in to receive the litres of slightly brown water that the water man has to offer. These litres are carefully used for washing dishes and bodies. In the 40 degree heat, there is no question about the need to have a shower on a daily basis.