Ambohijavatovo water project
The village of Ambohijatovo in Madagascar needed a clean and safe water system.
The total cost was £1,656 and thanks to a contribution from TUGHANS working in partnership with the ADSUM FOUNDATION this has become a reality.
Ambohijatovo is part of the Fokontany of Antanetilava in the Rural Commune of Manalalondo and is located 90 kilometres west of the capital Antananarivo.
The village has no access to clean, safe drinking water and has never had proper sanitation which is typical of rural areas.
The majority of people in this particularly deprived farming community make their living from agriculture and cattle raising. The villagers currently collect water from rice fields, about 30 minutes walk away. Access to a natural spring in the hills above the village is difficult during the rain season as the path becomes slippery and dangerous.
Traditionally it is the work of women and children to collect water - an arduous, energy and time-consuming task. During the rainy season the water source - used by the villagers for drinking, cooking, personal hygiene and the washing of clothes - becomes contaminated with dirt and animal faeces. In general those living in rural areas are particularly exposed to life-threatening illness caused by bilharzia and other water-borne diseases.
A safe source of water is available on a steep hillside about 290 metre above the village which could allow water to be brought close to villager's homes by installing a gravity-fed water system consisting of a small catchment tank with a two cubic metre capacity and the laying of UPVC pipes from there to two publicly accessible standpipes in the village.
Community leaders have given a solemn undertaking to set up a maintenance committee for each standpipe. On completion members of the management committee will receive maintenance training by experienced people who will supervise the work, and put in place a modest and affordable payments system to cover the cost of maintenance and repairs.
