A Day in the Life
One Nicaraguan Woman's daily struggle in a village with no reliable access to water...
Elbia Rivera Castro is a 20-year old single mother who lives with her two-year old son Carlos in El Limon, a rural community in Northern Nicaragua. She fell pregnant at 17 and had to drop out of school as a result. She now studies at the local high school at night and washes other people's clothes to earn a living.
She receives no support, economic or otherwise, from the father of the child. There is no running water or electricity where she lives which makes her life very hard and means that her work is all the more time consuming.
5.00am - Elbia gets up
It is still dark in El Limon and so she lights a candle so she can see enough to light the wood fire and start making coffee for all her family. She always collects the firewood the night before so as to have a 'quick' start in the morning.
6.00am - Carlos is awake
By 6.00am Elbia's son Carlos is awake and needs attention. By this time Elbia has already been to the river to collect water with which to wash the family's dishes from the day before. Elbia gives Carlos a small cup of sweet black coffee and sometimes a piece of bread if she has any which will keep him going until she has been able to go and collect his milk from a nearby farm.
7.00am - She starts making breakfast
By this time Elbia has already been to pick up Carlos litre of milk from a farm one kilometre away. She takes Carlos with her on her hip and also brings back 15 litres of drinking water from the well.
When she gets back she sets about heating Carlos' milk through and making breakfast for the two of them. Breakfast will normally consist of rice, tortillas and beans. Unlike many Nicaraguan women Elbia does not make her own tortillas. She buys them from a neighbour. Rice and beans are bought in the nearby city of Esteli. Usually by about 7.40am Elbia can sit down for a moment and eat her breakfast.
8.00am - Carlos has his bath
Elbia heats up river water on the fire and bathes Carlos. She then dresses him and does some tidying up. She makes the bed, sweeps the floor and sorts out their dirty clothes.
9.00am - Elbia starts washing clothes
By 9am Elbia is usually in the river washing her own and other people's clothes. Unable to find anyone to look after Carlos for her she is forced to take him with her.
This makes her work much harder as Carlos is only two and needs attention, especially in the river where he can easily fall and hurt himself or get bitten by a wasp or a scorpion. At the height of the rainy season there is even a danger of him getting swept away with the current.
Washing clothes by hand in the river is very tiring, physical work for which she earns very little. If she works for two hours she can earn about $1.50, although often she cannot find enough work even to earn this amount.
Her work is made much harder during the dry season when the river has much less water in it and therefore gets quite dirty. Sometimes the river often dries up altogether (a result of climate change and local environmental degradation such as deforestation) which means that Elbia has to dig a small hole, about 18 inches deep, in the riverbed.
During these driest months of the year, Elbia's work takes a lot more time than during the rainy season when there is plenty of water in the river. It takes her at least twice as long to earn the same amount of money when the river has no water in it. So we can begin to understand the direct link between the lack of water and economic hardship.
11.00am - Carlos has his rest
By the time Elbia gets back from the river Carlos is usually ready for his rest. After putting him to sleep she hangs up the washing and may be able to sit down for a moment before starting to make lunch.
12.00pm - Lunchtime
Lunch is usually rice, sometimes with fried beans or an egg if Elbia can afford it. Elbia has to be very economical with the water she brings from the well, as this is the only water safe enough to use for cooking and drinking.
Often, after lunch, she will walk into nearby Esteli three kilometres away, with Carlos on her hip as usual, to buy some essentials from the market. On the way back she will collect more water from the well to last her the afternoon and evening, leaving enough for the morning coffee.
4.00pm - Elbia gets ready for school
Elbia is studying the third year of secondary school at a college in Esteli. Her classes start at 5.30pm. Carlos is looked after by a neighbour during the time his mum is at school. She leaves food ready for his dinner and gets him into his bedclothes before leaving at 5.00pm.
5.30-9.00pm - School
Elbia receives three and a half hours of classes each day. This is shorter than the average school day which means that students who study at night have more homework than other high school students.
9.30pm - Elbia gets home
By 9.30pm Elbia is back home. After picking Carlos up from her neighbour's house and putting him to sleep again in their bed she will often stay up for an hour or more doing her homework by candlelight.
11.00pm - Elbia can go to bed
Usually by 11.00pm Elbia has finished her homework and can eventually get some rest herself before it all starts over again at 5.00am.
- Elbia at the waterhole
- Carlos in the river
- Washing in the river