Article #25 in the YCC Kids Club Ghana Student Life Stories Project
Nearly Dying from Fetching River Water
By Boateng Emmanuella, Age 14
First my bucket fell into the river, and then I tumbled in, too! I didn’t know how to swim, and there was nobody around to help me!
I was a girl of fourteen years old. At around ten o’clock in the morning, the water tap in my house stopped flowing, and there was no one in the house to fetch water from the riverside for my bath. The riverside was far from my home, but I decided to walk there myself. The only place in my mind was the River Volta.
When I reached the Volta River, I did not see anybody to help me fetch the water. The place was slippery because a lot of people had already come in the morning to fetch, since their tap was not flowing either. When they were fetching from the river, some of them had spilled water on the riverside ground, so the danger of sliding in was high.
I went to scoop the water. I filled my bucket and was about to leave when I stepped on a slippery place and found myself flat on the ground with the water poured all over me! I stood up and took the bucket for another attempt… and I stepped on a slippery place again. This time I was at the riverside, so my bucket and I fell right into the river!
I fought my hardest to get out of the water but I couldn’t because I didn’t know how to swim! So I just did my best to keep my hands up so that whoever passed by could find me and rescue me. The water began to fill my mouth and lungs as I gasped for air.
Luckily for me, I was still alive by the time a lady came to fetch water and spotted my hands sticking up from the river. She ran to bring back strong men to the riverside and they rescued me! They had to press my stomach so the water I drank could get out.
The lady who found me knew me previously, so she walked to my house to find my family. She told my parents everything, and they followed her to the riverside. When my mother saw me, she cried out, “Emmanuella, why did you want to fetch water from the riverside?”
I replied, “I wanted to take a bath, and when I listened to my colleagues talking about going to the riverside to fetch water, I felt like going there, too!” My parents took me to the hospital.
When I had recovered, I returned home from the hospital to see that there was a new pipe that had been put in my house. It turned out that after my accident, my father had gone to the District Chief Executive’s house and demanded a new water system be installed in our home. My father never wanted me to risk drowning again!
When I got to school that day, I told my friends who go to the river to fetch water to come to my house in order to fetch pipe water instead. My friends were very thankful!
Ghana is a “Developing” country, which means we still have basic problems like access to good water. To develop our country, it will be very helpful for some of us to have the opportunity to see what a “Developed” country looks like.
For this reason and many others, our YCC Cross-Culture group is traveling to London in August of this year for the return half of an educational youth exchange. I hope you will wish us luck on our preparations and our journey! We have much to learn, but we have much to teach as well!
Lillie’s Note: Please leave a comment for Emmanuella on her dramatic article, stating your geographical location!
I feel so bad for the people who doesn’t have water. We can have unlimited access to clean water. While people in Africa, has to risk their lives trying to get water for their daily lives. I think that people don’t appreciate their lives enough. It is lucky that we have a reliable source of food and water.
Wow that is so scary!
Emanuella was so lucky to have been saved! From this incident, her home even has a new water system installed. Her family is so fortunate considering not many homes have new water systems!
Im so happy that you survived that terrible accident! I also think that it was very kind of you to let your friends use your water instead of then risking their lives also. I hope that you have an amazing time with the YCC!
Such a terrifying moment!
This was such an amazing story. I am so glad you didn’t drown that day, then i wouldn’t be able to read your awesome writing! That woman was a hero! Good luck at the YCC! – Tori from boston
Oh my gosh!! You ae so very lucky to not have died. Goodthing that lady saw you and was able to save you. My mom would be so worried if that happened. Well now you have new water pipes so hopefully this won’t be happening anytime soon. >,< sincerly,
Rebecca from Boston
I would be very scared if that was me. This article reminds me of the time when i first learned how to swim.
Scary I wouldn’t have been able to keep calm in thet situation I’m glad I live in Boston because I have never known a tap to stop flowing
Emmanuella, Yikes! What a scary encounter you had! As someone who struggled to learn how to swim growing up, this story really resonated with me. I was on the edge of my seat reading it! Glad to hear there was a positive outcome and you now have a more convenient source of water!!
Nomadic Chick said…
Oh my goodness, what an exciting story. And happy travels in London, you’ll learn lots, just like we do reading your stories.
March 19, 2010 6:00 AM
Anonymous said…
Emmanuella -I’m so glad you were alright, and that you have the new water system – it’s too bad it could only happen after such a scary and dangerous experience. Good luck in your preparations, and wishing you safe travels from New York! – M.S.
March 21, 2010 11:22 PM
Luddy Sr. said…
Emmanuella,
What a terrifying story! How you managed to remain so calm in the water is a mystery to me. Most people would have panicked and drown before any help could arrive. I’m glad you were so smart. Please be careful from now on!
-Kwabla (Connecticut, USA)
March 28, 2010 9:06 AM