Vivid Memory 001: TT Village
- ṬṬ Village in 2012
Back in 2008, TT Village had 35 houses and around 300 residents. Two churches stood at the village’s east entrance, with a huge tree and a seating area between them. The church on the hilltop was the Baptist church; the one below was the Catholic church. Villagers loved their churches and took pride in making them the best buildings in town.
The Baptist church was built of brick: its front frame was painted white, the side walls were red brick, and the tin roof was also red. The window frames were blue, and two white crosses were mounted above the entrance. The Catholic church was made of simple wooden structure that looks as if the designer was European. Three households were Catholic; the other 32 were Baptist.
Just east of the Baptist church lay a reservoir for drinking water, fed by spring water. From this reservoir, water was piped directly to every home. The water was clean, cold, and reliable. The project was developed by the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme).
At the far end of the village was another reservoir, seven feet deep, seven feet wide, and fifteen feet long. A mini hydropower generator donated by a successful businessman from our village stood just south of that reservoir. It could power all 35 houses, but only for three hours each night (7 pm to 10 pm). Villagers followed a three day rotation schedule: when one house’s turns ended, they notified the next household that it was their turn to turn on the machine at 7 pm and turn off the machine at 10 pm.
South of the reservoir lay a one acre plot for each household, where villagers grew vegetables and more. The big garden was kept wet by the same spring water. Everyone was free to take what they needed; trust and mutual understanding kept things fair.
North of the reservoir were orange trees and a grape garden, but children were not allowed to play there.
One day, I joined all the other kids at the reservoir to swim. Confident that it “couldn’t be that hard,” I jumped in and nearly drowned. A friend tossed me a stick (or was it a pipe?), which I grabbed to pull myself out.
Many years later, right after COVID ended, I took a three month swimming course at the Baxter YMCA to learn the basics, but I still can’t overcome my fear of deep water. If I know it’s over five feet deep, I can’t go in.
- ṬṬ Village Baptist Church in 2012
Thank you for reading!