Tired of seeing broken hand pumps and taps litter Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Ned Breslin sees these as signs of the critical need to assess water projects for their real impact. We’ve observed the same thing in Bangladesh (see our previous post here). As Breslin explains in the video below, the focus should not be on the quantity of water pumps installed. Continue reading
With some delay, we just posted our latest yearly evaluation report here. In 2012, we gradually moved into Phase II of our programme. From the start, the water supplies (mostly deep tube-wells) were intended as triggers for a lengthier and broader development process. Phase II will further facilitate this process in the existing working areas (Munshiganj district). Some of the committees have already started undertaking activities beyond deep tube-well operation and maintenance responsibilities. Continue reading
Shifting to safe water is often insufficient to detoxify the blood and organs affected by years of gradual poisoning. A safe water supply must go hand in hand with long-term medical support for arsenicosis patients. However, the public health sector is facing serious resource limitations and inequities in access. For example, on average 41% of doctor positions are vacant in public health facilities. On top of that, 42% of all categories of health personnel employed in public facilities are usually absent. In terms of access, patients from the richest quintile are admitted for in-patient care five times more than the patients from the poorest quintile (see our previous publication for further details). Continue reading
Next to our current drinking water projects, we are also looking to expand our work into new areas with different socioeconomic, geographic and cultural characteristics. We expect that the implementation process developed so far can be adjusted and refined to fit these new circumstances. The highly vulnerable, low-lying and densely populated coastal districts of Bangladesh are home to about 28% of the total population. Next to arsenic contamination, these areas present additional challenges. About 40% of the total global storm surges have been recorded there and the deadliest cyclones in the past 50 years are those that have struck Bangladesh. The situation is likely to worsen as climate change has been linked to increased frequency of storm surges pushing further inland and losses of land due to sea-level rise. Continue reading
Shortly we will create collections of photos, but in the meantime you can have a look at some of the photos of our work over the years.
Thank you to all who already voted for our submission at the Water: Take 1 short video contest! The polls are still open for the Audience Choice Award, which runs until the end of September. So please keep sharing or click here to vote. Most of the Jury Awarded Grand Prize of $1500 will go towards funding our Campaign: An ambulance for our community clinic. 2013 Water: Take 1 is presented by Ventura Water and Patagonia to help draw attention to the current water crisis as we work towards solutions through education and partnerships. Award Ceremony: Thursday, November 14th, 2013, hosted by the Brooks Institute.
In this 5-minutes video you’ll see how people install a safe water supply in one of our communities, including staggering feats of acrobatics!
Account of an installation process
For six days, the crew worked around the clock. One after another, galvanised iron pipes were screwed together and the whole string was slowly drilled down. A bamboo scaffolding with ropes and pulleys had been constructed to hold the weight of the drill string that was wrung into the ground by hand, using clamps and handle-bars. Deep under the surface, a drill bit was cutting through the sand, clay and stones. The muddy mixture was carried upwards along the exterior of the pipes by water that was pumped down through the pipes and the drill bit. Mud and cow dung were added for lubrication and thickness. This ensured that the surrounding soil would not collapse and wedge the pipes. Continue reading
In March last year we reported on receiving a Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGHSP) from the Government of Japan to establish a community clinic in our working area. The arsenic problem requires measures to simultaneously provide safe drinking water and health care for arsenicosis patients. We are already working with paramedics at the village level and the clinic will strengthen this part of our programme. Continue reading
Since World War II, economic growth has been the leading policy goal in efforts to eradicate poverty. There is strong evidence that this strategy has gone hand in hand with increasing inequity and environmental degradation. We need concepts that will help us understand the inadequacies of the current economic system. We propose drawing from the ideas of sociologist Johan Galtung on social power structures, and those of economist Herman Daly on the physical features of the economy. A fusion of these perspectives creates a novel framework for analysis and a basis to formulate alternatives to the current growth strategy. One of the illustrations we use in the paper refers to our work in Bangladesh. Continue reading
Bangladesh’ 2011 progress report towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) underplays the arsenic problem. The proportion of the population using improved drinking water sources is said to have reached 86%. However, the report takes the most conservative estimate of 20 million people exposed to arsenic contaminated drinking water exceeding the Bangladesh Drinking Water Standard (BDWS). In contrast, in 2001, the British Geological Survey estimated that 35 million were exposed to levels above the BDWS or 57 million above the stricter World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline. In 2000, the WHO warned that this could go up to 77 million. Is the drop down to 20 million suggested by the recent MDG report justified? We have serious doubts, for the following reasons. Continue reading
