Meet Ammu
Ammu lives in Gandhi Nagar where water supply is irregular and available for only two hours a day. Her husband is a farmer and they have two cows. Because of the water the cows required, her family never had enough water to meet their own water needs.
Ammu has been a Self-Help Group member for two years, regularly participating in health awareness program campaigns conducted by Water.org’s local partner, in Hand in Hand. When she learned about Water.org and Hand in Hand’s WaterCredit loan program and easy repayment installments, she thought it was a good idea and decided to seek out a loan.
Today, Ammu has her own water connection. “I know that my water is safe. I get water all through the day and the tap never runs dry. After I pay back this loan within a year, I will get another [loan] to construct a toilet in my house,” said Ammu.
Meet Mary
Mary, her husband Jacob, and their young daughter live in Gandhi Nagar too. They are poor and their house did not used to have a toilet. Before Water.org, they never dreamed of getting a loan from any bank to construct one. Mary’s family, like most other families in the village, used open fields to relieve themselves.
Explained Mary, “It is okay for the men, but women find it had. We have to be up very early in the morning before the men folk and walk nearly a mile away.”
One day, Mary heard about Water.org and its local partner, Hand in Hand, from a friend who was part of HiH Self-Help Group. She then learned about the WaterCredit loans Hand in Hand offered. Mary was quick to join her own Self-Help Group and began to actively participate in various health awareness campaigns. Mary came to realize the health implications of improper sanitation. She approached HiH for a loan and constructed a toilet in her house.
Mary said she is very relieved and so is her growing daughter. She said paying back her loan in no problem as she manages to keep aside the amount each month to repay it. Just as she has benefitted from her friend telling her about the WaterCredit program, Mary wants to inspire her other friends to construct their own household toilets too.
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.
