It
would be difficult to imagine a less glamorous spot than Soi
Payang. It's a collection of ramshackle houses in a creek up
a dirt road off a rocky track, barely accessible by vehicle.
The earth is waterlogged, the air fetid, and even at 3pm the
mosquitoes are biting. It's hard to believe that the glitzy
hotels of Thailand's premier tourist resort island Phuket are
just a few miles away.
Yet villagers in this isolated location, where seven people
perished and infrastructure was hard hit in the 2004 tsunami,
are enjoying a new lease on life and health thanks to a simple
yet effective water and sanitation programme meticulously implemented
and run by the American Red Cross in collaboration with the
Thai Red Cross Society.
As the Movement is constantly discovering following the tsunami,
what begins as an emergency response project often has far-reaching
developmental benefits for a community. American Red Cross delegate
John McGown informs us that a year after the tsunami their assessment
showed that while a lot had been accomplished in terms of resettlement
and basic living conditions, there was still much to be desired
on the health, water and sanitation front.
"The previous water sources here were ponds, pipes or streams,"
said McGown, "but these were very high in either salt or
iron content and didn’t taste good. In order to ensure
local involvement and investment, we asked for a 20 percent
contribution toward costs from the communities, and gave them
a choice of ceramic, fibreglass or plastic rainwater harvesting
tanks."
The result is that a year later nine impoverished fishing communes
now have fresh water on tap during the rainy season, saving
them from the backbreaking labour of lugging water from nearby
streams, or paying for piped water. The 6 provinces of the Andaman
Sea in southern Thailand are fortunate to have an eight month
rainy season where rain water is a plentiful resource that can
be harvested when communities have the means to properly collect
and store water for household use.
Surangrat Na Lampang from the Thai Red Cross Society led the
education process in Ban Hin Lad and comments that, “the
community has been very involved in the project both in giving
ideas and labor. We did not only give them the hardware but
also the “software,” or knowledge on how to use
the water tanks and how to harvest rainwater correctly. The
beneficiaries are happy and we are happy too.”
Lampan Wangsoh confirms that the rainwater harvesting kit she
received has been a real benefit to her and her family. "I
would normally spend three to four hundred baht (US $10/€7/12CHF)
a month on water for cooking and washing. 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," she smiles. The difference
is significant, as her husband, a fish farmer, has not worked
since the tsunami.
Nearby Soi Surao is a community of many races and faiths. And
it is those of the Islamic faith who perhaps benefit most from
the rainwater harvesting programme, at least in simple economic
terms. Muslims in this area tend to spend one hundred baht (US
$3/€2/4CHF) per day for water to bathe before their five-times-daily
prayers. Now water supplies are more easily available for this
purpose.
Mother of six Tima Toedam confirms that much of the family budget
had to be spent on water. Now, with water more readily available,
she’s able to help her fisherman husband at sea. “We
really welcome the water programme,” she says, looking
up from the nets she is mending. “It’s made life
so much easier for us.”
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Soi
Payang, where rainwater harvesting has brought much more
than clean water. (p16666)
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Tima
Toedam and husband Arkeem, in Soi Surao, save significant
money on water for washing before prayers. (p16665)
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Lampan
Wangsoh and niece Supraporn: “With the money I save
from not buying water I can afford to buy extra crabs
for shelling.” (p16667)
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