Catalog

What a Difference Clean Water Makes

By Shakeel Ahmad Khan ( sakhan@adb.org )
Urban Development Specialist

Imagine living in a village in Pakistan and getting your water—for drinking, bathing, and washing clothes — from a stagnant rainwater pond, or a muddy irrigation and drainage canal contaminated with pesticides. This is what villagers in rural Punjab faced every day.

TAKING CHARGE Women have taken the lead in ensuring their communities have a safe water source

But what a difference clean water has made to the lives of the beneficiaries of the Punjab Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project, especially the women and children, whose job it was to fetch water each day for the family’s needs.

As implementation officer for this project, I saw firsthand the impact the Project had on the lives of beneficiaries.

Recently I visited villages near Bahawalpur, a cotton-growing region in southern Punjab. The story of Sughran Bibi, a mother of five, is typical: “We used to get our water from a pond also used by animals,” she told me. “It was so dirty. Then they dug a well, but we had to line up all day under the sun to get a little water. The water wasn’t good. Many children got sick with diarrhea, and there was cholera in the rainy season.”

She says she had no money to go to the doctor. Life was so bad that some families left the village. But now, she says, life is much better. “I have time for sewing and embroidery. I make clothes that I sell. We don’t have to skip meals anymore.”

Clean water piped to their homes has meant better health for villagers, especially the children. Outbreaks of waterborne diseases have been reduced dramatically. And other benefits have flowed. Without the heavy time-consuming burden of fetching water, women from poor families can now devote more time to livelihood activities to increase family income.

Women are also able to do more farm work, and some have planted home vegetable gardens to improve their family’s diet. Sughran Bibi’s children used to spend much of the day helping fetch water. Now they go to school. The provision of clean water has led to a big increase in school enrollment, especially for girls.

“Girls wanted to go to school but there was no time because we spent 5–6 hours a day fetching water. Mothers would say ‘first you must fetch the water, then you can study’,” says Farzina, a college student who is active on a village water committee.

Since the scheme was completed 2 years ago, the number of girls enrolled in elementary schools has increased from 100 to 150. Boys’ enrollment in elementary school has also increased. The problem now is a shortage of teachers and classrooms resulting from the influx of new students.

The project supplies piped water to households from tube wells. Groundwater is tested for quantity and quality to find the best location for the tube well, which may be several kilometers from the village. Another very important project component provides paving of village streets with bricks, and construction of drains as well.

Sadia Yasmeen, the chairperson of a community-based organization for women, says, “Before, women and children had such a hard time walking in our village because the streets were so muddy and dirty. We would often slip and fall. But now that our streets have been paved, and drains put in, it’s easy to get around and the village is much cleaner.”

On several occasions during handing-over ceremonies of completed schemes, I was welcomed by villagers with tears of happiness. “Our dreams have come true,” they told me. The project staff and I are proud that this Project has had a direct impact on reducing poverty, enhancing gender development, and improving the environment in rural Punjab.

Find out how ADB and its partners address the problem on water in the Asia-Pacific region

Visit our Water site

Learn more about ADB's activities in Pakistan.

Visit our Pakistan Resident Mission site

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