GHANA
Ayisa's Story
Mother of five Ayisa Bombu, 35, lives in the Ghanaian city of Tamale. She is five months pregnant with her sixth child.
An intermittent piped water supply means Ayisa has to resort to fetching water from a large pond formed by a dam.
The water is pea green, flies are buzzing across the surface of the water, plants are growing in the water and garbage is strewn across the banks. There are cows drinking from the water and there are animal droppings everywhere.
Ayisa described how she felt about collecting water from here:
“There are days I can come here more than six times to fetch water. I live a mile from here. I have young children who help me with the water collection and other family who will help me when the new baby comes.
"We use this water for all domestic work when the pipes don’t work. You look at this water and you find it difficult to drink, but we are compelled to drink it sometimes.
"Even if you boil it it has a scum on top. When you look at this color you can’t think about drinking it without treating it so we put alum in it to clean it. Normally when we do this it gets a bit cleaner but there are still some particles in it. When it is very sunny the water has foam on top.
"In the dry season it dries up a bit. One year it dried up completely.
"I have to go home now to cook. I am the only woman in my house and I have so many domestic chores."
Photo: WaterAid / Jon Spaull
BANGLEDESH
Ruby's Story
Ruby lives in Balar Math, an overcrowded informal settlement in Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka. There are no water or sanitation facilities here.
Her life is very challenging, as she described:
"This slum has existed for 10 years and is in a shocking state. Hanging latrines feed straight into a garbage-filled ditch in the middle of the slum. Five thousand households live here with no clean water and no sanitation. There are old handpumps but they are not deep enough and the sinking water table means that only a small amount of water can be drawn from them each day.
"Many people get very ill here and I think it all stems from the open latrines. Smell the stench, it’s disgusting. We get fevers, coughs and terrible diarrhea and there are no healthcare facilities that we can use. We spend lots of time bringing water from a handpump about 20 minutes' walk away. You have to queue for at least two hours to get the water.
"I earn between 500-1000 taka per month and I have to spend about 100 taka on water. At least we are surviving. Our biggest fear is that we get evicted from the slum by the government.’’
Photo: WaterAid / Abir Abdullah
TANZANIA
Nakwetikya's Story
Nakwetikya's Story
"The situation here used to be bleak," she explains. "There was no water and we had to dig pits to find some. Can you imagine what it was like? My legs used to shake with fear before climbing down those holes. There was no choice. If I didn't get water my family couldn't eat, wash or even have a drink.
"When I heard that we were going to get clean water I remember laughing, it was so funny. I can only compare it to someone who is in prison for a long time. When they are set free it's the most fantastic experience.
"Since having the new water source life has changed in so many amazing ways. My status as a woman has been finally recognized. I have the time to look after my family as we have more time and energy.
"Before we formed a committee and prepared ourselves as a community, men just saw women as animals. I think they thought of us as bats flapping around them. They had no respect for us and no-one would allow you to speak or listen to what you had to say. When I stand up now in a group I am not an animal. I am a woman with a valid opinion. We have been encouraged and trained and the whole community has learned to understand us."
Photo: WaterAid / Alex Macro
INDIA
Nita's Story:
Premnega Primary School
Nita is a student at Premnega Primary School in Uttar Pradesh, India, where WaterAid and local partner organization Gramonati Sansthan have built latrines, and promoted good hygiene practices.
As a member of the water committee formed as part of the project, Nita is responsible for collecting drinking water from the school pump and making sure it is kept clean, as she described:
"When we collect water we have to clean the pot, cover it, and use a ladle to take water out. If we don’t do this young children put their hands in it and the water becomes dirty. We keep water covered so that dust from cleaning the house will not go inside. Hands can be very dirty so we should wash them, especially after using the latrine.
"In the water committee, we collect water, clean the pots, get water from the handpumps, and when the children ask for water, we get it for them. We make the children stand in a line to get clean drinking water. One person will pour the water and drink without letting their mouth touch the pot. In the morning we clean the pots – if we don’t do this, the dirt will come.
"In the water from the open well, dust and germs go inside and if we drink this water we will get ill. We tell our parents that we should keep the water covered and get a ladle. Some of our mothers had ladles before but the rest of us have purchased them since. We use the ladles because our hands are not clean and it will contaminate the water”
Photo: WaterAid / Marco Betti
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