27/02/2007
Todat we travelled to the village of Gaonpada in Puri district. We got out of the 4x4s next to a dirty irrigation canal. The water on the left of the bridge looked foul and stagnant and I later found out that the villagers defecate on this side of the bridge and use it to wash soiled nappies. In the water on the right hand side of the bridge were women and children washing, collecting water and brushing their teeth. The bridge acted as a divide between the two areas but the river ran under it.
Then we were hit with the welcome committee. There was singing, dancing and gifts of flowers. We were shown into a marquee followed by the whole village and then taken to meet the families.
I'd like to introduce you to Suraj. Suraj is 35 years old and has 4 children. She gets up at 4am to go to the river to defecate, wash and collect water before the men wake up. Then she cooks for the day and looks after her animals.
The children get up at 7am, although only the eldest girl goes to school. Muna has dropped out and Kuna is not interested in his studies. Only Sabi attends.
When there is work available Suraj works in the nearby fields as a labourer and earns approx 20 rupees a day (24 pence) to feed her family.
Suraj collects water three times a day for washing, cooking and drinking. There are hand pumps available but they are contaminated with fluoride and iron and so the women use the river or the pond. The thing that strikes me is that it is not access to water that is the problem here rather the quality of the water that is the issue.
I asked Suraj if the water makes her ill and she told me that Muna had recently had diarrhoea for more than one month. When I asked her if she had any hopes for the future the translator explained that she has no hopes for the future because she expects nothing. I guess that when life is that hard each day is a constant struggle for survival. I hope that when WaterAid starts work in April she will be able to see beyond the present day, and start living - not just existing.
Todat we travelled to the village of Gaonpada in Puri district. We got out of the 4x4s next to a dirty irrigation canal. The water on the left of the bridge looked foul and stagnant and I later found out that the villagers defecate on this side of the bridge and use it to wash soiled nappies. In the water on the right hand side of the bridge were women and children washing, collecting water and brushing their teeth. The bridge acted as a divide between the two areas but the river ran under it.
Then we were hit with the welcome committee. There was singing, dancing and gifts of flowers. We were shown into a marquee followed by the whole village and then taken to meet the families.
I'd like to introduce you to Suraj. Suraj is 35 years old and has 4 children. She gets up at 4am to go to the river to defecate, wash and collect water before the men wake up. Then she cooks for the day and looks after her animals.
The children get up at 7am, although only the eldest girl goes to school. Muna has dropped out and Kuna is not interested in his studies. Only Sabi attends.
When there is work available Suraj works in the nearby fields as a labourer and earns approx 20 rupees a day (24 pence) to feed her family.
Suraj collects water three times a day for washing, cooking and drinking. There are hand pumps available but they are contaminated with fluoride and iron and so the women use the river or the pond. The thing that strikes me is that it is not access to water that is the problem here rather the quality of the water that is the issue.
I asked Suraj if the water makes her ill and she told me that Muna had recently had diarrhoea for more than one month. When I asked her if she had any hopes for the future the translator explained that she has no hopes for the future because she expects nothing. I guess that when life is that hard each day is a constant struggle for survival. I hope that when WaterAid starts work in April she will be able to see beyond the present day, and start living - not just existing.
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