I am a poor widow living in Vadugaputty (ward No. 14) hamlet of Musiri Town Panchayat with my son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. In the past, we’ve had bitter experiences collecting our drinking water and defecating in the open (because we didn’t have a toilet).
We used to collect was from the public tap but it was not dependable. I used to leave our empty pots in front of the public tap two days before the water was going to be released for collection by the city. If the water was scheduled to come in the morning, I would go the previous night and sleep there so I could wake and get the water. Even then it was difficult to get five pots of water and sometimes it ended in quarreling with the other women.
One day there was a big fight and I got injured, leaving scars on my body. Many days I could not sleep well due to this difficulty in collecting water. It is becaue we do not have an individual water pipe connection that we have to go under all these ordeals.
At this juncture, Water.org and SCOPE came to our village and told us about the individual water pipe connection and Ecosan toilet program. Immediately, I applied for both. Now we have an individual water pipe connection and toilet in our house! We are using it and our relatives are also coming to house to use it. We feel so very happy.
Whenever I see the scars on my body, I remember the problem I faced in collecting water from the public tap. If the individual water pipe connection had come to our village earlier I would not have this scar on my body. I would have never dreamt that we could get these two facilities on our own, so we are thankful for Water.org and SCOPE. – Mrs. Thangammal
*This project made possible by support from PepsiCo Foundation.
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.
