I'm six months into my assignment as a Water & Sanitation officer with World Vision here in Bangladesh. Six months!
I realised that I haven't really updated on here too much lately, and from the content of the current posts, you may have forgotten that I actually am working while I'm here too! I promise I am working, and things are actually picking up and I'm feeling a little bit productive! Woo! After feeling a bit lost in the first few months it's a nice feeling :)
A few weeks ago, I was in Laksam, about 180km north of Chittagong (in Bangladesh this equals a horrid 5 hour drive!) Laksam is an area where the shallow groundwater is highly contaminated with naturally occurring arsenic.
In Bangladesh 95% of drinking water comes from tube wells, these are wells that are bored (or hand dug) into the ground and a hand pump pumps the groundwater to the surface. In Laksam 98% of the available water is contaminated with arsenic. Arsenic contaminated water is a huge concern in many areas of Bangladesh, and about 38 million people are currently at risk. And for people in those communities there often aren't any other water options, so they drink the arsenic contaminated water. This can lead to Arsenicosis. Bad news.
I met with two different communities who have have the arsenic removal unit installed. The most exciting part was seeing how with the help of World Vision, the community had mobilised to form a committee to oversee maintenance, and each user pays a fee, according to how much they can afford to pay into a fund for future maintenance. I was so encouraged by the sustainability of the project, and how the community had taken ownership of the unit and their health and livelihoods!
And then I had a go! Of course everyone thought it was hilarious.
In one community I was the given the very honoured job of drinking the first glass of arsenic free water from the unit! I felt pretty special... until I found out that everyone else was just waiting until they had dedicated the unit to the gods the next morning. yep.
It's baby steps in community development, but sometimes these baby steps can lead to significant changed circumstances in communities health and future. It's a total blessing to have the opportunity to witness just a part of it.
Ok, let's hug! x
I realised that I haven't really updated on here too much lately, and from the content of the current posts, you may have forgotten that I actually am working while I'm here too! I promise I am working, and things are actually picking up and I'm feeling a little bit productive! Woo! After feeling a bit lost in the first few months it's a nice feeling :)
 |
| even the village kids are excited for me |
In Bangladesh 95% of drinking water comes from tube wells, these are wells that are bored (or hand dug) into the ground and a hand pump pumps the groundwater to the surface. In Laksam 98% of the available water is contaminated with arsenic. Arsenic contaminated water is a huge concern in many areas of Bangladesh, and about 38 million people are currently at risk. And for people in those communities there often aren't any other water options, so they drink the arsenic contaminated water. This can lead to Arsenicosis. Bad news.
But in Laksam, World Vision has been working with several communities to install a community-based arsenic removal unit to replace the old contaminated tube well. These units are designed in Bangladesh, and very easy to operate - just pump like a regular tube well, then the clean water comes out a tap. It also requires minimal maintenance and zero electricity, which is essential for sustainability in ultra poor communities!
I met with two different communities who have have the arsenic removal unit installed. The most exciting part was seeing how with the help of World Vision, the community had mobilised to form a committee to oversee maintenance, and each user pays a fee, according to how much they can afford to pay into a fund for future maintenance. I was so encouraged by the sustainability of the project, and how the community had taken ownership of the unit and their health and livelihoods!
And then I had a go! Of course everyone thought it was hilarious.
In one community I was the given the very honoured job of drinking the first glass of arsenic free water from the unit! I felt pretty special... until I found out that everyone else was just waiting until they had dedicated the unit to the gods the next morning. yep.
It's baby steps in community development, but sometimes these baby steps can lead to significant changed circumstances in communities health and future. It's a total blessing to have the opportunity to witness just a part of it.
Ok, let's hug! x
No comments:
Post a Comment