Katrina’s Appeal for Clean Water, Health, and Dignity in Lapinu
Check out Katrina’s 90-second testimony on YouTube by clicking here
For the past three years, Katrina has served as a Kawan Sehat health agent in the isolated village of Lapinu, East Sumba. Every day, she strives to improve the well-being of her 300 neighbours; however, together, they confront challenges that often seem insurmountable.
In Lapinu, clean water is not just difficult to find; it’s nearly absent. The community depends on a lone natural spring that fails to meet their needs, lacks protection, and is often contaminated. Every drop used for drinking, cooking, or cleaning poses the danger of disease transmission. Waterborne illnesses such as diarrhea, typhoid fever, and intestinal infections are rampant. Inadequate hygiene leads to pervasive skin issues and joint pain among almost all residents. Malaria continues to be a persistent menace due to stagnant pools serving as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
“Waterborne diseases are preventable, yet in Lapinu, they are a daily battle. Clean water isn’t a luxury—it’s a matter of survival.” – Alex Wettstein, CEO & Founder, Fair Future Foundation
The absence of clean water is a hidden menace, particularly for children, the elderly, and pregnant women who are most at risk. Inadequate hydration and poor sanitation can transform minor infections into dangerous health threats. Infants often grow up with weakened immune systems from the beginning due to this issue. Additionally, open wounds become prone to infection easily; in places lacking medical infrastructure, conditions that could be treated typically turn fatal.
Compounding the crisis, there is virtually no sanitation infrastructure. Most families lack toilets and resort to open defecation, which contaminates their clean water. The cycle of disease persists unceasingly. Katrina witnesses this daily; she addresses the symptoms but cannot eliminate the root cause—the scarcity of clean water remains unchanged.
In spite of all the challenges, the people of Lapinu envision a future where they can access clean water for drinking and washing. They dream of a time when children are free from preventable diseases and families no longer have to trek kilometres each day merely to gather unsafe water.
In this 90-second video, Katrina tells her story. Watch it closely, listen to what she says, and sense the urgency in her message.
Fair Future rejects this reality. We are initiating the Water Connections project in Lapinu to supply safe drinking water, construct toilets, and establish sustainable solutions. However, we need your support to accomplish this goal.
#WaterConnections #LifeThroughWater #FairFutureFoundation #ConnectingForWater #HealthAndSanitationMatters #EmpowerRuralCommunities #ResolveTheWaterCrisis #InitiateChangeNow #DevelopmentThatLasts
Today, January the 21st, 2024 – Alex Wettstein
Related external links
- Water.org – Water.org provides sustainable clean water solutions for communities facing extreme shortages.
- Last Mile Health – Like Fair Future, Last Mile Health trains frontline health workers to serve rural communities.
- UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene – UNICEF fights for access to clean water and sanitation, particularly in vulnerable regions.
- WHO Water Sanitation Program – WHO leads global health efforts, including preventing waterborne diseases.
- Rotary International – Rotary supports water access projects, including Fair Future’s SolarBuddy initiative.
