By Tom Webber | U.S. Development Director
BridgIT was able to refurbish 3 village wells during the last quarter with funding from this GlobalGiving crowdfunding campaign. Thank you so much to our generous donors for providing safe, clean water to 2,470 Dalit people living in the C. Boyinpalli Dalit Colony, Chaagaler Village, and Allireddipalle Village in the Kadapa District, Andhra Pradesh, India.
As is generally the case, wells that were drilled by the government fall into disrepair with time, and since villagers do not have ownership or management rights, there is no money or ability to repair them. With your funding, BridgIT is able to work with its implementing partner to replace the pump and rusted pipes, repair the concrete structure on the ground, and gift the villagers with the basic human right of accessible and sustainable potable water.
In exchange for this gift, villagers agree to assume ownership rights and management responsibility for their water supply. Water User Committees charge a reasonable use fee to build up a maintenance fund to pay for any future repairs. In this way, the well becomes a sustainable asset and the water a sustainable resource for these people.
Potable water from the wells replaces often contaminate water that women and girls fetch from open wells, rivers, lakes, ponds, and canals. Waterborne diseases (e.g. cholera) become rare, allowing the adults to work and the children to attend school.
Sanitation is an important part of every new or refurbished well that BridgIT funds. Please check the images of the health worker teaching villagers how to wash their hands. While this practice seems natural to westerners, it is a new concept to people living in water scarce villages, and sanitation is extremely important to reduce diseases.
Thank you again for supporting BridgIT Water Foundation’s refurbished water well campaign in rural Andhra Pradesh.
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