Access to clean water restored
F
our Dalit families in Kathhariya
Moreover, their toilet which was
municipality of Rautahat district
under construction was also
who used same water source faced
damaged by the flood. Samtaliya
health issues when an unprotected
says, ‘’Defecating in the open
well they were using was damaged
was shameful, but we had to go
by the 2017 floods. They had a
in the open fields for a long time
handpump earlier but not in use
in the absence of a toilet.”
anymore.
As a part of the Early Flood
‘’Our houses remained flooded for
Recovery Project, Oxfam repaired
four days. We settled temporarily at a
their handpump and the toilet.
neighbor’s concrete home. When we
Samtaliya is happy now that her
came back, our grain stock had been
family has access to clean water
swept away by flood, the bamboo
and a toilet. Their time to fetch
and mud walls were brought down
water has also been sharply
and there was water everywhere
reduced as they no longer need
inside the home,’’ recalls Samtaliya
to walk a kilometer to collect
Majhi from Katthariya.
water.
Her daughter Ughani, whose family
Oxfam has been working in the
also relied on the same well, said
Katthariya, Hathiyahi since 2011
she and her kids started falling sick
on Disaster Risk Management
consuming water from the well.
and Humanitarian Preparedness,
“The water from the well was not
and more recently supporting
clean; there were frogs leaping in
the people affected by the 2017
and out of it,’’ said Ughani.
floods.
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“The water from the well was not clean; there were frogs leaping in and out of it,’’ said Ughani.
Samtaliya pumping water from her restored handpump. Photo credit: Oxfam
