I am Mrs. Kolanchi residing at Kamaraj Nagar of Ariyamangalam Zone in Trichy City Corporation. I am 47 years old and my husband passed away over a year ago. I have three sons and three daughters.
We have suffered a lot because of poverty. All of my children discontinued their studies and went to work jobs instead to support the family. Because we all work, we don’t get adequate water for our needs because the public water supply is usually collected from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. in our area. More than 100 people collect water from that single tap. People even fight amongst themselves while collecting the water. I work in a hotel and return home at 12 a.m. but because water collection is in the early hours, we would wake up early in the morning with hardly any sleep to wait at the public tap to collect water. It greatly affected our livelihood activities. Day after day this continued and I became sick because of this difficult situation.
At this time, Mrs. Bagyalakshmi of Kamaraj Nagar told me about Water.org and Guardian working in our area and providing loans for water and sanitation. Upon hearing this I joined a Joint Lending Group* and received a loan for a water connection. Now I have water right in my home and it is no problem for me to collect it! There are families like me who also suffer a lot because of water. I have asked Guardian to identify them and also help them address their water needs.
*This project made possible by support from PepsiCo Foundation.
*Joint Lending Group: A small group comprised of both men and women, usually three to five people, takes on a loan and are all responsible for pay back. A JLG requires less time and involvment from its members than a women’s Self-Help Group.
This story is part of our Giving Thanks: Story of the Day series that will run through the end of 2009. There are countless reasons to celebrate clean water and we want to bring you some of the first-hand accounts of its life-saving, life-changing impact for those we serve around the globe. We invite you to join us and give thanks, give water, give life.
