Where oh where has my hydro gone? by Jessie

We are lucky now to have electricity every other day. The rains are failing, and apparently the lake that fills up to run the hydroelectric plant has run dry. Abba Petros, the local priest and passer-on of news, says that a few years ago when the hydroelectric project started, one of the lead engineers predicted that the water would seep out through the soil faster than the lake could refill. In the meantime, we run the generator a few times a day to keep the fridges cool so the vaccines don’t spoil. Emily puts ice packs in the fridge overnight to keep things cold until the morning. If a patient needs oxygen, we leave the generator on for four hours at a time and then let it rest for an hour, rechecking the patient and the generator each time. We are often more worried for the generator than for the patient, since the radiator has taken to leaking and the machine overheats quickly. The breaker switch has been flipping for no apparent reason. I wish I knew more about generators. Or electricity. Or both.

The lack of electricity is affecting the country in unexpected ways. The price of concrete has quadrupled because the factory that makes cement can’t run without electricity. Diesel is a hot commodity because people have to fill their generators. Some businesses admit defeat and close down every other day when the hydro is gone. One of the nurses at the clinic admits that she is relieved when the electricity goes off, because then the little shops by her house stop blaring their music into the street at all hours of the night. The town becomes dark and peaceful. The phone system has also stopped working, which may or may not be related to the power shortages, but it seems awfully coincidental to be considered just bad luck. No hydro means no computer, no lights, no radio, no hot water, no email, no fax, and perhaps, no phone either. On the up-side, it also means candlelight dinners and night skies crowded with bright stars, and it forces us to actually read books instead of watching DVD movies on our computer. I guess you can get used to anything.