Which really, is a fancy name for a simple (but effective!) water filter, made of a concrete cylinder, with a removable steel 'pot' with holes at the very top, followed by layers of coarse gravel, finer gravel, sand, and very fine sand. 'Bio-sand', because it's all natural, and people can clean out their filters and collect more sand just from the river when needed.
Families collect (dirty) water from the river, and keep the water in the big cisterns (which you can see behind the filter) to settle for a few days, then, when they need clean water, they can scoop water from the cistern, and pour it into the filter. The water makes its way through the filter, up through a tube inside at the end, and through the spout - CLEAN, CLEAR, and SAFE to drink (and cook with, and bathe with, and wash dishes, etc with)! :)
Simple? Yes! Amazing?? YES! :) At what cost? $50.
What's more amazing is what clean water means! It means for the families no more getting sick from typhoid, cholera, fever, diarrhea, fever, stomach aches and vomiting that drinking unclean water brings. When I talked to the families, they told me that before having the filters, the family got sick at least a few times per month - at least every two weeks... Sometimes the illness was very severe - one family of eight lost one child to typhoid before the filter. Another pointed to one little boy running around and laughing, and said that he had almost passed away the last time he was ill.
How many times have they gotten sick (from water-related illnesses) since receiving the filter? - NONE - None!! Not one time!!
The families I talked to were so happy. Their eyes light up when they talk about their filters, and say how different life is from 'before'. They tell me how proud they are to know about diseases with water that they didn't know about before, and of being able to care for their families better. They tell me how their neighbours come to pour their water through the filters, and they are happy to share.
And what does clean water really mean? It means that they have the time, energy and health to be able to do other important things like farming, to produce food that their families need. It means children can spend more time on their studies. This is the family (grandma, with some of the kids) whose little boy almost died from illness before - and now he's alive and well and full of smiles. :) I didn't get to meet the mom and dad and some of the other kids but they were out in the fields planting rice... because they can! :)
More tangibly, families estimated that they had to spend somewhere between US$50 to $100 per month added up of each time they got sick, for private nurses' visits, medications, or visits into nearest town to go to the hospital and the hospital fees. I was shocked. How on earth did they pay for these fees before? They looked a bit sad, and told me, they sold animals, they sold veggies, they sold 'everything'. They took loans (which often put them into debt), paid in their own labour...
What have they done with the money that have saved? Two families I talked to had saved up and bought an oxcart, like this one, which can help them with farming (to carry seeds or rice seedlings to the field for planting, for harvesting, etc).
I asked them what they might do with the money they continue to save or earn from more farming. They look excited as they reply. One family wants to build a water pump by the end of this year, which will save them the 6-7 trips they still have to take each day to the river to collect water. (How far is it? How long does it take you? One woman replied: Oh, if you are slow, it takes you 30 minutes each time. But I am happy, I run!). A family wants to have a pond to raise fish - they will save money to pay someone to help dig a pond and get the fish.
It's not 'just' water. That's why I've said Water+. It's + so much more. These families aren't worried about just surviving today anymore. They aren't selling everything they own and need to make a living, to live through the crisis of being sick today. They all have HOPE and ideas for the future.... all because of one filter... that cost just $50 to construct!! That's $50 pretty darn well spent if you ask me!
... food for thought - or, maybe, it could be really food, for real families in need :) - where's your next 50 going?
xo
Rainbow
what an empowering resource! thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteHow do we get connected to help build more filters?
ReplyDeleteWow, who knew such a simple solution was possible for water filtration! I'm intrigued by how exactly this physical process destroys the pathogens... would have assumed that some chemical treatment would be necessary to do the job.
ReplyDelete