Water is basic necessity and many villages don’t have enough sources of potable water. Many families send their girl children to fetch the potable water at distant areas, rather than sending them to schools. Threat of getting rapped in long and lonely path for getting water is another issue. And some manage with infested water from ponds at their nearby area and suffer from various water borne diseases like Cholera, Typhoid fever, Dysentery, Amebic dysentery, Brainerd diarrhea, etc. Many families have no choice. In summer time they have to hunt for the water and whatever they collect is contaminated with bacteria, germs and parasites.
These challenges badly affect their health and reduce their productivity, which ultimately push them more into poverty trap. Though some simple and effective solutions like rain water harvesting, use of potash alum for cleaning the water, boiling of water etc. can do wonder for them.
Markaz promotes protected springs, bore wells, rainwater harvesting and some other simple but effective techniques/education at schools and communities. Construction of public toilets at communities and schools is another area that we promote. Communities and schools children are educated about maintenance of personal hygiene and sanitation at their surrounding areas. The maintenance of these water and sanitation utilities is mostly done by the trained community members.
Our Water and Sanitation programme directly helps community and school children to access safe and potable water and sanitation facilities. It is also providing opportunity for many girl children to attend school, rather than fetching potable water.
Markaz Al Bishara 