Father and daughter deliver water to drought-stricken seniors

[Ralph Swansburg and the tanks he’s using to deliver water to drought-stricken seniors in his Nova Scotia community / Facebook]

This summer’s drought in Nova Scotia has left farmers scrambling to cope with lost crops and residents coming up with creative ways to get water for necessities like showering and flushing toilets. Even provincial parks have had to open water facilities to the public.

However, for the elderly, the drought can provide its own special set of challenges, something resident Ralph Swansburg realized and he decided to act on.

“Ever since everybody started running out of water I was concerned about the elderly who can’t get the water themselves and have nobody to bring it to them,” he told Halifax newspaper The Chronicle Herald.

So Swansburg went to the local fire department, filled two 1,000-litre tanks with water and delivered them to the seniors.

To help out, he enlisted his daughter Emma to help gather the names of seniors affected by the drought and distribute water where needed.

“I had five people on the list, but as I went around a few others came out with buckets, so I gave them (water),” he told the paper.

Despite being a father of three and working in the construction industry, he said that they’re planning on doing it again.

“It’s what everybody does when someone needs help,” he said to The Chronicle Herald. “It’s just something simple to do and it’s the right thing to do.”