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| © UNICEF Sri Lanka/2006/Saltori |
A simple, affordable, and innovative solution to clean water can be found - right above our head.
After the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, saltwater contaminated the wells of many areas in Southern Sri Lanka. Rainwater harvesting systems became one of the most reliable solutions in meeting the safe drinking water needs of this rural population. Rainwater is collected on the roof of a house and stored in a tank after passing through a gravel-charcoal filter.
In the above picture you can see Janaka who is 14 and lives in Godagama Village, near Galle in southern Sri Lanka.
Janaka says,
“After the tsunami we always boiled water. The rainwater saves a lot of the time and makes life easier. Now I always wash my hands before meals because water is so close by.”
Comments (3)
This is the kind of work that is made by a company that i work for.
Im excited and relieved that this effort on rooftop harvesting created a solution.
This makes us know were trully going in the right direction.
Thank you.
Keep up the good work.
Posted by Mr. Colindres | July 28, 2007 6:54 PM
Posted on July 28, 2007 18:54
Great post. Kudos to UNICEF for supporting this work. What would it take for every household in arid, semi-arid and flood-prone regions around the world to have access to safe, affordable and sustainable water storage devices? There are great organizations throughout India (think Tarun Bharat Sangh, IDE-India, etc.) doing this work - how can UNICEF help not just to build more systems but to catalyze systemic change by working with these organizations to encourage the Indian (and other) government to better prioritize rainwater catchment technologies, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas?
Posted by John Oldfield | July 29, 2007 5:58 PM
Posted on July 29, 2007 17:58
We're working to help implement similar rain water catchment systems in Kenya. Similar systems were used in Uganda where a gentleman working on a water project summed it up best.
"God must think we're crazy. We let the rain fall off our roofs onto our soil, it washes the soil away and flows to the bottom of the hill. We then climb down the hill and carry it back up to drink."
We couldn't agree more!
We're also building sand dams (weirs) to help provide clean water in these African villages. The idea is similar. Collect the rain water there is that usually flows on by, hold it and use it over time. So often the solutions to providing access to clean water are simpler than we think.
Posted by Peter Chasse | January 31, 2008 8:38 PM
Posted on January 31, 2008 20:38