Saving Energy

I woke early again at 1:30am and could not fall asleep any more. I don't know whether it's because of the hot temperature, the excitement or the effect of the anti-malarial, Lariam. I haven't slept well for two nights. Finally, I managed to sleep for a while and woke up at 6:30. I found that the electricity in the compound was cut off. Later I learned that the electricity would be cut off from 6 am to 12noon, and then from 2 pm to 7 pm to save energy. There is no domestic water supply. People here take water from the street taps. MSF has to employ large water trucks to carry water and store it in a large water tank in the hospital and one in the compound. The supply is not reliable. There are some plastic vessels storing water for emergency use. We have to be very careful in using all these resources. I can only manage to bathe once a day with a bucket of water. Monrovia had been a very wealthy and beautiful city. It is the capital of this country. It's next to the Atlantic Ocean and has a beautiful seashore and beaches. Our guesthouse is next to the beach with lots of UN, Embassy and NGO compounds. It occupies a fairly large flat but the facilities are mostly worn out. I guess the owner departed and left the house behind to ruin. All the basic structures in the city, like the electricity and water system were destroyed after fourteen years of civil war. It will take a long time to rebuild this country. Au Yiu Kai