Wishing Upon A Water Lottery

My name is Ester. I come from the Maasai community in the Losimingori village of Arusha, Tanzania. 

My health is weak. I suffer from chest pain. Yet in spite of my condition, I have to continue this way. When I return, the sickness only amplifies. 

We have a huge water problem in this village. I walk four times a week to the Nanja dam to fetch water.  

During the monsoon, the water comes to us. So it makes me feel free. The rain makes the water visit us home. 

I have six children. Sometimes they do come to help. But most of the days, I avoid asking for their help so that they can continue their education and go to school.

If I won a water lottery somehow, and was to receive a lot of water, I would first thank God for it. Then, I will sit down to make Maasai Jewelry. It is something I deeply enjoy but hardly find time for. I could sell that jewelry to villagers and tourists as a source of income.

Of course, this is only a dream because our water problem is increasingly worsening. 

Apart from my own troubles, I often think about the widows in the tribe. The women who have lost their husbands, imagine who do they have to rely upon? My problems are nothing in comparison to the ones they are facing. It makes me sad to see their circumstances. 

I never got educated. Because we weren’t allowed to study. But if I had, imagine what a good life I could have crafted. Therefore, my biggest life lesson is: Learning must be for all. All children in the world should get an opportunity to get educated and build a life of solutions and ideas.