No More Drinking Polluted River Water
The community in one of Wahana Visi Indonesia's (WVI) assisted villages in the Sekadau Program Area in Nanga Taman District, Sekadau Regency, West Kalimantan has been struggling to get clean water for years. Seeing this, WVI, supported by the We Are Water (WAW) Foundation, together with the entire community, helped to bring clean water sources to the village.
The village, which is located in a remote area, is difficult to reach from the main village road. The trip to this village takes a very long time because you have to pass through forests, suspension bridges, and footpaths. Not even the lighting was there.
Even so, the village is known for its good water sources. Many tributaries flow there. Unfortunately, this existence still makes it difficult for people to get clean water sources. The river is only used as a place to bathe, while for drinking, people use boiled rainwater.
“Before WVI entered our village, we drank raw water every day without cooking it. After the training from WVI, now I no longer drink raw water,” said Liberius Abuik (54) a villager when met by WVI.
According to him, although there are many infiltration springs in his village, the community does not understand how to analyze water discharge. People only know to use river water for bathing and drinking even though it is polluted.
Abuik admitted that after receiving training from WVI, the community began to understand the dangers of using polluted water. Then, the community submitted a proposal to WVI for assistance in developing clean water.
“Thank God our prayers have been answered. We are assisted in the construction of clean water funded by the We Are Water Foundation,” added the father of three.
The head of the Water Committee in the village, Sumarno, added that his village finally received construction assistance for clean water so that it could be channeled directly to residents' homes. This development process also involves the villagers. Residents work together to transport materials to construction.
“From the beginning until now the clean water development has been supported by the village government. They provided a 1,800-liter barrel of water which was supported by Wahana Visi Indonesia and We Are Water,” he explained.
Veronika (15), a child who has experienced the benefits of the clean water provided, said that now she and her family only need to open the faucet directly from the house when they want to use clean water.
Written by: Rinso Yohanes, WAW Staff Project Area Program Sekadau Wahana Visi Indonesia
