A thirsty India
This past weekend we visited rural villages in this part of India with no safe drinking water. The two villages are situated on islands at the mouth of the Krishna river, before the Krishna empties into the Bay of Bengal. The people there are in desperate need of a fresh water well. One village, Nachugunta (translated "mossy hole") is a town of nearly 2000 people. It takes them nearly a half of a day to get to the nearest source of drinking water, and even that is contaminated. We were served dinner in that town by the church there. As Americans, we brought our own bottled water because any of the water in India will make us sick upon drinking it. We were traveling with two Indian men, Shalem and Peter, who were able to drink the local water. They told us after the meal that even the water at Nachugunta was unfit for them to drink. At the bottom of their cups they saw what looked like moss floating as well as other things. Unfortunately, they told us this AFTER we left, otherwise we would have shared the water we had with the people there.
The other community, Ellachettladibba, of about 500 people is even more remote than Nachugunta. They too are in desperate need for fresh water. They do have a cistern that they collect rain water from the rainy season, but currently we are in the dry season and their cistern is dry.
For both villages, it will take a company to drill at least 400 feet into the ground, past a section of salt water, before getting to fresh water. Thankfully, the organization I am with these two weeks is trying to find the funding to bring fresh water wells to these areas.
This is a major issue. Contaminated drinking water negatively affects growth in children and overall health of all people.
On the return trip from the islands, we met a father whose son had broken his arm today. The boy wasn't more than 3 years old. The dad held him the entire way from the remote village as they were beginning their 100km trip to the nearest hospital, all over very rough rural roads. They didn't have a car. They would either have to walk, hire an autorickshaw, or take a bus from the island. We offered them a ride and they accepted to let us take them half of the way. They would then catch a bus from the town we dropped them off in and ride the remaining 50km to the hospital. Once we arrived in the next town, we dropped them off at the bus stop, and gave them a few hundred rupees for their trip and doctor bills. Fortunately, traveling with the father was a rural practitioner like a paramedic who set the boy's arm and gave him a sedative for the difficult journey. It broke my heart that a family would have to travel so far for such needed help.
It's just not right.
The other community, Ellachettladibba, of about 500 people is even more remote than Nachugunta. They too are in desperate need for fresh water. They do have a cistern that they collect rain water from the rainy season, but currently we are in the dry season and their cistern is dry.
For both villages, it will take a company to drill at least 400 feet into the ground, past a section of salt water, before getting to fresh water. Thankfully, the organization I am with these two weeks is trying to find the funding to bring fresh water wells to these areas.
This is a major issue. Contaminated drinking water negatively affects growth in children and overall health of all people.
On the return trip from the islands, we met a father whose son had broken his arm today. The boy wasn't more than 3 years old. The dad held him the entire way from the remote village as they were beginning their 100km trip to the nearest hospital, all over very rough rural roads. They didn't have a car. They would either have to walk, hire an autorickshaw, or take a bus from the island. We offered them a ride and they accepted to let us take them half of the way. They would then catch a bus from the town we dropped them off in and ride the remaining 50km to the hospital. Once we arrived in the next town, we dropped them off at the bus stop, and gave them a few hundred rupees for their trip and doctor bills. Fortunately, traveling with the father was a rural practitioner like a paramedic who set the boy's arm and gave him a sedative for the difficult journey. It broke my heart that a family would have to travel so far for such needed help.
It's just not right.
posted by Mike Weaver at 11:41 AM
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