Sustainable Development

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This is the last of the rural village project visits, as next week we'll be visiting slums. The village we visit today has recently begun work with WaterAid. Nick, Liz, Christina and I begin by meeting with members of the Village Water and Sanitation Committee to discuss how they locally address water and sanitation issues here. Each village in the area has an elected representative. The committee of eleven is deliberately composed of six women and five men, to ensure that women always remain involved and have an active voice - something that has not happened in the past.

Meanwhile, some of the other supporters meet with a representative for water quality. I am surprised and impressed to find out that he has test kits for various physical, chemical and biological indicators of drinking water quality, such as pH, hardness, BOD, iron content etc. Such tests are carried out approximately every three months on samples from every water source provided by WaterAid or its partners. In the event of a sample failure, it is sometimes possible to chlorinate. This is a far cry from the sophisticated, QA-proofed and frequent tests we carry out on the water supply at home, but in the circumstances this is fantastic progress.

Another group have gone to meet with mechanics to discuss asset maintenance. WaterAid and partners ensure that enough people are trained to maintain and repair their new assets; vital for sustainability.

Sadly I do not have time to meet with all of these groups and before we know it it's time for the long bumpy drive back to Bhubaneswar.

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