Safe Water Project Sees the Construction of Eight Water Purification Wells in Sri Lanka
The Safe Water and Livelihood Development project was a two-year effort to provide village wells in Polonnaruwa District. Funded by The Salvation Army World Service Office, the goal of the project was to provide safe drinking water to this agricultural community through building new wells.
Many farmers in the area suffer from a deadly, chronic kidney disease of unknown origin. Contamination of surface water with agricultural chemicals is high on the list of suspected causes, along with not drinking enough water in the very hot climate.
A new well was to be provided for each of six villages, but thanks to God’s provision and extra funding, a total of eight were built. An estimated 2,742 families will directly benefit from the new water wells.
To ensure financial sustainability, villagers pay a small fee for water from their well. A committee manages these funds, which are used to repair the well pump when needed but also to create a reserve fund. This money can be used to assist community members experiencing hardship such as a death in the family, for social events, and more. Several villages have saved enough from the income generated by selling water to sponsor a well in a neighboring village, where they help replicate the work of their well committee.
Apart from better access to clean water, other benefits from this project include: reduced walking distance and time spent to fetch water and, through community education during the project, greater awareness of kidney disease and the availability of treatment. Through a separate project in the same District, The Salvation Army partnered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health to conduct mobile testing sites so that cases of kidney disease could be detected early and referred for treatment at the nearest government hospital.
