Kwame and the Sand-Dam
A brave boy builds a sand-dam and brings water back to his village.
From “Combatting Water Scarcity Across Africa” · ages 6–10
Kuzin Stops Water Waste
In a thirsty Mauritian village, Kuzin becomes a drop detective and stops water waste, from dripping taps to a leaking pipe.
Read the story
In a sunny village near Grand Baie, between green sugar cane fields and a mountain shaped like a thumb, lived a boy everyone called Kuzin. Kuzin means "cousin" in Mauritian Kreol. He was everybody's favourite cousin, because he always noticed the things that other people missed.
That year the rain stayed away. The big lakes in the hills, called reservoirs, grew lower and lower. Water came to the taps for only a few hours each day. "Every drop is precious," said Granmoun, Kuzin's grandma, filling her buckets. Kuzin nodded. "Then I'll be a drop detective!"
Drip… drip… drip. Kuzin followed the sound to the garden tap by the old stone wall. A shiny drop fell every second, and a little puddle shone in the dust. "Got you!" he laughed, and turned the tap tight. He put a bowl underneath to catch any last drops for Granmoun's chilli plants.
In the kitchen, his big sister Lina was brushing her teeth while the tap gushed and gurgled. "Stop!" said Kuzin, turning it off. "Wet your brush, turn it off, brush, then a quick rinse." Lina giggled with a foamy mouth. "OK, Detective Kuzin!" A small cup was all she needed.
Uncle Jean-Paul sang in the shower, louder and louder, for ages. Kuzin knocked on the door. "Tonton! The song is lovely, but the shower is too long!" The singing stopped. "Five minutes, then," laughed Uncle, "and I'll sing the short song!" The water went quiet, and Kuzin did a happy dance.
Up on the roof, the water tank was so full it was spilling over! Water splashed down the corrugated iron and ran away into the drain. Kuzin ran to Granmoun. She called a neighbour, who climbed up and fixed the float that tells the tank to stop. "Clever boy," Granmoun said.
Walking to the shop, Kuzin saw something strange. On the dry road outside, a puddle bubbled up from the ground, and water trickled along the gutter. "It hasn't rained for weeks," he said. "This water is coming from a broken pipe under the road!" He did not touch it. He ran to find Granmoun.
Granmoun looked carefully, then took out her phone. "We call the Central Water Authority," she said. "The number is one, seven, zero. It's free." She told them the street and what they saw, and Kuzin took a photo. "Thank you for telling us," said the kind voice. "A team is coming."
The next morning, workers in bright orange vests came with a digger. They lifted the road, found the cracked old pipe and fixed it with a new one. The bubbling puddle dried up in the sunshine. "Thanks to you, lots of water will reach people's taps," the team leader told Kuzin, giving him a big thumbs-up.
Soon Kuzin's friends wanted to be drop detectives too. They checked taps at home and at school, and listened for drips. When the rain finally came, the whole village danced. "Water is like a dodo," said Granmoun. "If we waste it, it could disappear. If we care for it, it stays."
In Mauritius, more than half of the clean water put into the pipes is lost or never paid for before it reaches people's taps, mostly because of leaks. Little leaks add up to a lot! You can help: turn taps off tightly, take short showers, and if you see a leak in the street, tell a grown-up so they can call one, seven, zero.
Attention! The toilet is dripping. The kitchen tap won't turn off properly. The pipe in the yard is leaking. You brush your teeth and leave the water running. In the street, the CWA pipe has burst and made a big puddle in front of your door. Don't waste water! Fix and turn off the taps in your home! Call the CWA on one, seven, zero to repair the pipe in the street. Every drop of water is important. Don't waste water today, save water for tomorrow!
Words to learn
- Corrugated
- Wavy, like the metal roofs on many Mauritian houses.
- CWA
- The Central Water Authority, which brings tap water to homes in Mauritius. Its free number is 170.
- Detective
- Someone who looks carefully for clues to solve a mystery.
- Dodo
- A bird that lived only in Mauritius and disappeared long ago.
- Drought
- A long time with very little rain.
- Float (in a tank)
- A part that floats on the water and turns the water off when the tank is full.
- Granmoun
- Kreol for an old person or grandparent. Here it means Grandma.
- Kuzin
- “Cousin” in Mauritian Kreol.
- Leak
- A crack or hole where water escapes by mistake.
- Reservoir
- A big lake made to store water for people to use.
- Tonton
- Uncle.
What would you do?
Kuzin was a drop detective! In Mauritius, more than half of the clean water put into the pipes is lost before it reaches people's taps, mostly through leaks. What would you do?
- You hear a drip-drip in the bathroom at night Turn the tap off tightly, and if it still drips, tell a grown-up so it can be fixed.
- You see water bubbling out of the road on a dry day Don't touch it! Tell a grown-up, so they can call the CWA on 170 (free) or report it in the KOREK! app.
- Your brother leaves the tap running while he brushes his teeth Show him Kuzin's trick: wet the brush, tap off, brush, then a quick rinse from a cup.
- Your family wants to save water this week Try short showers, catch rainwater for the plants, and check every tap at home. Be a drop detective!
More stories from this book
Kaya & Rain-Collection
When the village well runs dry, Kaya sets off on a quest to save the rain.