The community of Custom Corner sub-ward is home to about 1,600 residents. They all share one single piped water source. Most residents have to walk almost a mile to access it, and the lines are always long. Opiro Walter, the council leader tells us that even this water source needs repair, but the organization that installed it is no longer working in the area, so they reached out to Drop in the Bucket’s staff.
Martha Hilder is a mother of four. She lives in the community and walks to the pipe every day to wash clothes and fetch the water her family needs for the day. On average her family uses six jerricans per day, or about 32 gallons. That means six trips to the pipe and back carrying five gallons of water. On top of that, Maria lets us know the water is only safe for drinking two months out of the year. “The water is drinkable for just two months in dry season but once rainy season sets in, the muddiness sets in,” she explains.
Muddiness is certainly a problem, but due to the location of the pipe in the lowlands of the community, sewage also runs downhill and contaminates the water, leading to increased instances of disease and infection. Opiro tells us that the most common diseases seen in the community are all water-borne, with the most prevalent being Typhoid. Typhoid is a bacterial disease that causes vomiting and fever, requires antibiotics to treat, and can be fatal if left untreated. The water situation at Custom Corner sub-ward was putting an additional strain on the local healthcare system.
Thanks to a generous Drop in the Bucket donor, the community of over 900 people in the Custom Corner sub-ward now have clean water. We are so grateful to our donors for making this work possible.
