Mafia’s life: Clean water at last

“I used to carry water from the Surma River, which is about one kilometre from my home,” says 40-year-old Mafia. “We drank that water and used it for cooking.”

Clean water remains a dream for many residents of Gowainghat, Mafia’s home in Bangladesh’s north-east. Only one in ten of the locals consumed safe drinking water, with the rest drinking and bathing in river and pond water, which triggers a range of complaints: diarrhoea and skin infections; malnutrition and intestinal worms.

Only one in ten consumed safe drinking water.

With children being the most vulnerable to the lack of safe drinking water, which is compounded by poor awareness among parents and other caregivers, World Vision has partnered with the local government, other NGOs and the community to minimize the water crisis.

Through its development program in Gowainghat, World Vision has installed twelve deep tube-wells in six villages located in Alirgoan and Lengura in which the ADP works in. After installation, public health officials tested the water in all the wells for arsenic and iron and found the level of contamination acceptable.

Community people and children getting safe drinking water through using deep tube well installed by World Vision.

Nearly 750 families with World Vision’s sponsored children now collect their water from these wells, bringing convenience and hope that widespread diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid and malnutrition will disappear as people abandon the use of river and pond water for drinking and cooking.

“We are grateful to World Vision for its generous support to us," says Md. Halim, a community leader in Purnagar village. “Now we are safe from any diseases. We do not need to drink river or pond water anymore."

Story : Md. Golam Ehsanul HabibPhoto: Gowainghat Programme staff