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Kharan and Washuk are the most deprived districts of Balochistan where severe droughts and floods over the past decade have caused a loss of crops and major damage to the existing water systems.
As a consequence, people are forced to fetch drinking water from open wells, which have been the source of the water borne diseases, and is an arduous daily task.
Mah Bibi
Mah Bibi is a 38 year old housewife in Kharan. At a depth of 85ft, she finds fetching the water from the open well a very difficult task. She comes from a poor family, and her family income is dependent on livestock and agricultural activities. However, life was not always like this for Mah. Before droughts had hit the area, her family were very happy. They had livestock and enough water to cultivate the soil and get yields. Unfortunately, the prolonged drought in 2007, followed by heavy floods, has left them with almost nothing and in conditions which stripped them off their basic needs of life.
Safe Drinking Water
Recognising this urgent need, Islamic Relief recently completed a project, following your generous donations, which provided these communities with safe drinking water. The following activities were completed:
- Installation of 20 hand pumps – benefiting approximately 2,000 people across the districts
- Promoting and providing hygiene training for community members – with literacy ratios very low in these regions, training has enabled an increase in awareness and has educated communities in general health and sanitation issues.
- Providing operation and maintenance training – enabling individuals from the community to be part of the running of the project and ensuring its long term sustainability
Now, people such as Mah Bibi and her family can enjoy water facilities near their homes and have access to clean and safe drinking water. “The hand pump scheme saved our time, health and wealth” says Mah, “now we are much happier...thanks to God who helped us through Islamic Relief, now we are getting clean water without any difficulty” Find out more about Islamic Relief's Water and Sanitation projects Find out more about Islamic Relief in Pakistan
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