Friday, October 15, 2010

Hemalal collecting water from the community water point

At the Eco Children Home we pride ourselves on being active community members. Whether it be the Pokhara community, the nonprofit community or the blogging community we are trying to be more involved.

Today is Blog Action Day and the theme this year is WATER. We thought it would be fitting to discuss our water situation at the home and in Nepal. 

Water in Nepal is a problematic thing. During the monsoons we have so much of it sitting around that it aids the spread of many diseases. In other months there is never enough, causing people to line up at water points for hours to fill plastic bottles, jugs and buckets. According to WaterAid Nepal 4.4 million people in Nepal do not have access to safe drinking facilities.

At the home it is usually the housemothers who have the responsibility of collecting water while the children are at school. Everyday they collect large amounts of safe water for cooking and drinking at the home. It is a job which is very time consuming and requires great physical strength.

In pokhara we are fortunate as clean water filters down from the jungle to various water points. The home has two water points within blocks. For many others collecting water is a difficult daily task. In Kathmandu the water is becoming very polluted and traditional water points are becoming contaminated as the population increases. 10,500 under five year olds die a year due to inadequate water and sanitation access (WaterAid Nepal).

Recently one of our volunteers was hospitalised after drinking contaminated water during a trip to Kathmandu. She was shocked to discover the hospital had very limited facilities, no flushing toilet or soap in the bathroom. The hospital staff also declined to provide her with drinking water as the water was considered too polluted for foreigners to drink. 

We hope to improve the children's water practices. We have highlighted a number of water issues we can work on at the home. These are:

  • Clean hands - it is traditional to eat with the hands in Nepal so we need to ensure the children are diligent in keeping hands clean.
  • Swimming - none of the children can swim. The home is located blocks from a large lake. This provides a very real safety issue.
  • Water Safety for Volunteers - we need to ensure we can provide clean water and to educate volunteers of the dangers of drink water from unknown sources.
Head to Speak Up For Change to view other water posts from all over the world.

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