A tank truck pumps 5,000 litres of water from the river, right next to young children doing laundry.
This source of water is the only one in the region, and everyone comes to draw water from it, tank trucks follow one another to bring thousands of litres of potentially dangerous water into the water tanks of families, or often directly in dry wells.
A permanent problem here in one of the poorest regions of Indonesia and certainly the one where access to water is the most problematic. This water that the village’s order is very expensive for the families: 250,000.- IDR to 750,000.- IDR, is often loaded with toxic products such as phosphates.
Other compounds such as chlorine, phthalates, formaldehyde & in some cases a product called 1,4-dioxane have been known to cause dizziness, drowsiness, headaches, anorexia & irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs in humans.
Fair Future Foundation & Kawan Baik Indonesia are doing a lot of research work to find solutions with the populations concerned, ref: #waterconnections or #rebuildmbinudita.
Weaving and creation of clean water networks, construction of closed 6,000-litre water tanks, allowing the storage & filtration of water, construction of toilets & showers.
This is thanks to the drilling of deep wells where the water is the cleanest, deep in the ground. But also thanks to the collection of rainwater under certain conditions: Filtered, treated or boiled, this new water in its composition allows consumers in regions without water, to ensure their physical well-being.
The collection of testimonies and data, visualizing the daily facts, the habits and customs of these families, allows us to make observations between physical and mental health and the consumption of water unsuitable for daily needs such as drinking, eating, washing.
Then compare the suggestions, the solutions that we can put in place to change the course of things and bring innovative and above all sustainable ideas.
Every year, millions of people die of diarrhoea because of unsafe drinking water.
The prevention of diarrhoea is largely possible and we could, for example, prevent the death of millions of thousands of children under the age of 5 each year if we fought against these risk
factors.
- Water is essential for life, it constitutes about 60% of our body weight for an adult;
- The bodies of babies are made up of about 75% water, and those of children 70%; therefore, their water needs are very high.
- Water represents about 2/3 of the weight of the cells;
- Water is a medium for chemical reactions, it is both a reactant and a product of metabolism;
- Water is in charge of maintaining a stable body temperature, despite external conditions. The trace elements present in the water are responsible for the electrolyte balance of the intra and extra-cellular environments.
Illnesses linked to improper water consumption
Drinking contaminated water can lead to serious health problems. Cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, scabies, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, trachoma, typhoid and paratyphoid fevers, hepatitis, malnutrition and poliomyelitis, significant metabolic fatigue causing disorders of all vital systems, to death.
In the long term, consumption of water loaded with heavy metals, pesticides, nitrates and other chemical components such as arsenic are likely to cause serious congenital malformations in newborns: Limb deformation, hydro-encephalitis and other physical or mental disabilities.
