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Water Means Life for Poor Fishing Villages
Red Cross rain harvesting programs have helped improve health and sanitation in towns devastated by the 2004 South Asia tsunami.
By Joe Lowry, Regional Information Delegate, Bangkok, Thailand
Thursday, November 01, 2007 — It is difficult to imagine a less glamorous spot on Earth than Soi Payang. A cluster of ramshackle houses sit on a dirt path off a rocky track, barely accessible by road. The earth is waterlogged, the air is fetid, and mosquitoes are biting even at 3:00 p.m. The glitzy hotels of Phuket, Thailand’s tourist resort island, are just a few miles away, but economically and culturally the two places are worlds apart.
“With the money I save from not buying water I can afford to buy extra crabs for shelling,” says Lampan Wangsoh, holding her niece, Supraporn.
(Photo: Joe Lowry/International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.)
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Yet, just three years after the South Asia tsunami killed seven people and crippled the infrastructure of this rural community, villagers are now enjoying a new lease on life. Thanks to a simple yet effective water and sanitation program meticulously implemented by the American Red Cross and the Thai Red Cross, the villagers of Soi Payang receive fresh water by harvesting rain during the monsoon.
An Extended Rainy Season
A s Red Cross workers are constantly discovering, what begins as an emergency response project often has far-reaching developmental benefits for a community. A merican Red Cross delegate John McGown explains that a year after the tsunami, assessments showed that a lot had been accomplished in terms of resettlement and basic living conditions, but there was still much to be desired on the health, water and sanitation fronts.
“The previous water sources here were ponds, pipes and streams,” says McGown. “ But these were very high in salt or iron content and didn’t taste good.”
The six provinces in southern Thailand are fortunate to have an eight- month rainy season. During the rainy season, rain water is an abundant resource and can be harvested if communities have the means to properly collect and store water for household use.
“ To ensure local involvement and investment, we asked for a 20 percent contribution toward costs from the communities,” says McGown. “We gave them a choice of ceramic, fiberglass or plastic rainwater harvesting tanks.”
The result: A year later, nine impoverished fishing communities have fresh water during the rainy season, saving them from the backbreaking task of lugging water from nearby streams or from paying for piped water.
Financial Benefits to Villagers
Surangrat Na Lampang of the Thai Red Cross Society explains that residents of Soi Payang have been very involved in the project, both in terms of suggesting ideas and providing labor.
“We not only gave them the hardware, but also the ‘ software’ or knowledge of how to use the water tanks and how to harvest rainwater correctly,” says Lampang. “The beneficiaries are happy, and we are happy, too.”
Villagers agree. Lampan Wangsoh, for example, admits that the rainwater harvesting kit she received has been a real financial benefit to her and her family, especially since her husband, a fish farmer, has not worked since the tsunami.
“I would normally spend 300 to 400 baht (U.S. $10) a month on water for c ooking and washing,” she explains. “With the money I save, I can afford to buy extra crabs for shelling, and my income has gone up to about 300 baht per day. ”
The benefits of the rainwater harvesting program are not restricted to Soi Payang. Muslims in the nearby village of Soi Surao spend 100 baht (U.S. $3) each day for water to bathe before their five-time daily prayer ritual.
Tima Toedam, mother of six, says that much of her family’s budget had to be spent on water. Now, with water more readily available, she can focus on helping her fisherman husband.
“We really welcome the water program,” she says, looking up from the nets she is mending. “It’s made life so much easier for us.”
For more information, visit the Tsunami Recovery Program.
As part of the world's largest humanitarian network, the American Red Cross alleviates the suffering of victims of war, disaster and other international crises, and works with other Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to improve chronic, life-threatening conditions in developing nations. We reconnect families separated by emergencies and educate the American public about international humanitarian law. This assistance is made possible through the generosity of the American public.
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