Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, is a tough place at the best of times. During the El Nino drought late last year, the search for water – never a cheap or plentiful resource – became a constant, and often desperate, preoccupation for most of the city’s inhabitants.
The woman below was forced to draw water from a fetid lake for bathing and washing clothes. That was after the dribble from a tiny pipe that she and dozens of neighbouring households usually rely on, dried up. For drinking and cooking she would bus around the city begging a gerry can full from relatives. The most desperate people I spoke to, drank water from drains.
Not only is water hard to access in PNG, but it is also the most expensive on the planet. WaterAid UK recently released a report on the price of water around the world. Hence my recent visit, taking photos, shooting video and doing interviews.
It was a fascinating but sobering trip. A reminder, as if one were needed, of the massive gulf between rich and poor, haves and have-nots in this ever-shrinking world.
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Money exchanges hands with ‘Water Boy’ water vendor. Gereka, Port Morseby, Papua New Guinea.
