On March 31, 2023, our social and medical teams visited Laindatang, Mbatakapidu, Sumba Timur. This visit #3 was to make a new point with the inhabitants of this ultra-rural and poor village on the clean water access project that we must start quickly.
Fair Future and its friends do a lot of social and medical research as part of our work here in this village with nothing. We try to find innovative solutions to problems such as child malnutrition, malaria, dengue fever, lack of food and infectious diseases linked to the absence of toilets, showers and clean water.
Access to clean water (we are not talking about drinking water again here) is crucial for the health and well-being of families and all human beings. Unfortunately, most rural areas in one of the world’s poorest regions have no access. Worse, families can only consume and use dirty water, potentially dangerous for the health of adults and too often fatal for children and vulnerable people: children under five years old, pregnant women, chronic patients, and older people are among those at risk.
Before providing new infrastructure around clean water, it is essential to carry out a needs assessment to determine the specific needs and priorities of the community. This is what we did yesterday for the 3rd time with them. This will help ensure that facilities are designed and implemented in a culturally appropriate way that meets community needs.
For these villagers, it is a fundamental question of survival. They still store some rainwater in dirty, contaminated and dangerous tanks. This water still available will serve them to drink, eat and survive. As the dry season begins, there won’t be any left in a few weeks. But it is dirty, infected and carries infectious diseases that can be fatal such as Malaria, Cholera, Dengue, Typhoid fever, hepatitis A, and Guinea worm disease. And, of course, diarrheal diseases, such as E. coli and rotavirus, are prevalent here and caused by contaminated water and can lead to dehydration and even death, especially in children.
Access to clean water and adequate sanitation is essential to prevent the spread of these and other infectious diseases. Here in Laindatang, no one has access to clean water or toilets, no showers, only once a month and rarely eats. That’s why we have to start this project quickly.
An additional meeting for which four representatives of the State Territorial Planning Services (PUPR) accompanied us because access here is complicated. It took us almost three hours to cover over eight kilometres of steep, slippery, dangerous, narrow trails in the pouring rain. From then on, these people from the State also guaranteed and promised that the most hazardous passages would be repaired. This allows us to route and transport the tons of material we will need on the spot.
You can help us realise this project, which is vital for a hundred families. And if you wish, do so with a donation that will be entirely donated to the #waterconnections project, the village of Laindatang; you are welcome. Lots of love and thanks to all of you.
Alexandre Wettstein from the Foundation’s Medico-Social Camp in East Sumba, Rumah Kambera, Lambanapu, on April 1, 2023.
