Family has access to water once every four days before WaterCredit
Mrs. Manonmani lives with her husband and two children in a slum area in Tiruchirpalli City in India. Before taking out a WaterCredit loan, she collected water from a public standpost where water was only provided on alternate days. And under an arrangement with a neighboring community, Mrs. Manonmani’s community was only able to collect water on every other of the alternating days. For a family of four, access to water once every four days was woefully inadequate. When Water.org’s partner organization, Gramalaya, came to Mrs. Manonmani’s slum to talk to the residents about loans, Mrs. Manonmani was very excited. Soon after the discussion, Mrs. Manonmani applied for – and received – the loan. The new water connection has created huge advantages for her and her family.
Read more about Mrs. Manonmani’s story.
Community takes out loan, reaches hundreds of people with safe water
In western Kenya, the community of Boya took out a loan of $21,000 to finance a new water tank and pipes. The residents were so pleased with the results that now they want to do even more. The pride they have in their system is evident. “A project funded by a grant is like renting a house-it never really belongs to you,” says water committee chairman, Samson Onyango Alai. “But WaterCredit is like buying the house-now we own it.”
Read more about the Boya’s community’s story.
WaterCredit loan results in good health, food and extra income
S. Gandhamani, who lives in Ponnesgampatti, India, took out a WaterCredit loan to install a new water tap outside of her house. Today, she not only has easy access to safe water, but the wastewater that runs from the drainage area around her tap is channeled to a thriving garden where she grows banana trees to earn extra income for her family. A few short months ago, the time and water it takes to tend these trees would have made this garden impossible. Now, each bunch of bananas she sells brings in an extra 150 rupees ($3 US) for her family. By harvesting the bananas five times per year, Gandhamani has added the equivalent of five weeks of wages to her yearly income.
Read more about Gandhamani’s story.
