Putting an end to the days of drudgery

Muralimaya Pakhrin, 70, is very happy today. A drinking water tap has been constructed in the yard of her house. Muralimaya, who has a family of eight including three male and five female members, spent the past 20 years of her life fetching water from a nearby ravine. After her sons and daughters-in-law migrated to nearby town in search for work, she was left alone in the family and used to spend hours daily to fetch water for herself and the livestock. She remained tired and fatigued from the commute most of the time. To make matters worse, the water would be muddy during the rainy season and dry-up during the winter. Murilamaya, contemplating all the troubles she faced due to lack of clean water source nearby, says “the ravine was the single source of all water needed for drinking, cooking, cleaning, washing, latrine and livestock. It was not only me, but all members of our community who carried empty water vessels at dawn and dusk to fetch water. Thankfully, the days of having to worry for water are now a thing of the past.”

Pointing at the water tap constructed near her yard, Muralimaya adds "gone are the days when I spent hours daily searching for and fetching water. In retrospect, I feel that the trouble brought by lack of access to drinking water is the greatest trouble anyone can face in their life. I am no longer walking long distance with my old and tired body. With water tap nearby, I am able to fill my water vessels anytime, be it dawn, noon, dusk or night. The worrisome days about murky and dried-up water are bygone. Every house in the community now has water tap constructed near their yard. With accessible water, changes in hygiene and sanitation behavior is evident in the community. All water vessels in my house are filled. This has made me extremely happy.”

A clean water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion project has recently been completed in the Nepane Dunde Khola community with the technical and financial support from Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH), which has benefited Muralimaya Pakhrin and 501 other people in the community.