Youngsters rejoice as water comes to their doorsteps
Villagers express gratitude over provision of everyday use water.
SWAT:
Water at their doorstep was something unusual to them – it was evident from the marvelled looks the little Swati girls sported on their faces, as they sat filling their water pots so near home, for the first time in their life.
“It was always a nightmare for us when our mothers asked us to fetch water from the spring located about four kilometres meters up the hill,” said Hasanat, a fifth grader, from the village Melaga.
The village is located on high mountains some 30 kilometres away from Mingora. Like most other villages in the area, it lacks facilities taken for granted in most parts of the country.
The village mostly consists of mud houses with steep and slippery streets. The women and children normally have to fetch water from far-off places. “Three times a day we had to carry water, early in the morning, just before going to school, after coming from school and then in the evening,” Hasanat added.
Hazrat Rom, 12, told The Express Tribune, “It took us 40 minutes to reach the spring and an equal amount of time to bring water back; we often experienced backache in the night after carrying water the entire day.”
But everything is changed now that the water supply scheme, a project of the Open Society Foundation and Sarhad Rural Support Programme, has been completed. “You don’t know how happy we are. We can enjoy water without our mothers scolding us for excessive use,” said one young carrier of water.
“We dreaded carrying water from the spring located uphill,” said Mohammad Kabir, a local farmer, mentioning that they often had to use a donkey for the purpose. Appreciating the initiatives he said, “Now we have one tap for every four houses, we are very happy.”
A little girl said, “It is like a dream come true, we no longer have to worry about the endless water trips that gave us aching nights and made us dread mornings.” There was relief in her tone.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2011.
Water at their doorstep was something unusual to them – it was evident from the marvelled looks the little Swati girls sported on their faces, as they sat filling their water pots so near home, for the first time in their life.
“It was always a nightmare for us when our mothers asked us to fetch water from the spring located about four kilometres meters up the hill,” said Hasanat, a fifth grader, from the village Melaga.
The village is located on high mountains some 30 kilometres away from Mingora. Like most other villages in the area, it lacks facilities taken for granted in most parts of the country.
The village mostly consists of mud houses with steep and slippery streets. The women and children normally have to fetch water from far-off places. “Three times a day we had to carry water, early in the morning, just before going to school, after coming from school and then in the evening,” Hasanat added.
Hazrat Rom, 12, told The Express Tribune, “It took us 40 minutes to reach the spring and an equal amount of time to bring water back; we often experienced backache in the night after carrying water the entire day.”
But everything is changed now that the water supply scheme, a project of the Open Society Foundation and Sarhad Rural Support Programme, has been completed. “You don’t know how happy we are. We can enjoy water without our mothers scolding us for excessive use,” said one young carrier of water.
“We dreaded carrying water from the spring located uphill,” said Mohammad Kabir, a local farmer, mentioning that they often had to use a donkey for the purpose. Appreciating the initiatives he said, “Now we have one tap for every four houses, we are very happy.”
A little girl said, “It is like a dream come true, we no longer have to worry about the endless water trips that gave us aching nights and made us dread mornings.” There was relief in her tone.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 27th, 2011.