BY JOY OFASIA
THE Impact of poor water and sanitation is a burden to women who experience this daily issue collecting water from water sources and carrying water home from far distances.
Lucia Tungi from Vura village, Tandai ward in Northwest Guadalcanal constituency see’s water and sanitation as one of the main issue women in her area have been facing the past years.
Lucia and her family decided to move out from the main village in Vura to the current settlement near the main road so that her children could access easy education, to make good gardening and also easy to make little markets to earn money.
“My family moved out from the big village to our new place where we now settle to access an easier life such as staying near the road so that our children may attend school every day and also to make big gardens for market purposes where the soil is much better for garden.
“But then we came to face our main problem which is the access of clean water. We normally take water to drink and to cook from a creek not far from where we live. The water is not really safe to consume but because that is the only source we have here in our area.”
Lucia said that when it rains, the creek gets dirty so they use rain water which is the only time they access clean water source from the rain.
“This is our main challenge especially me as a mother of the house, it is my main responsibility for all our household water and sanitation related task such as cleaning , cooking, washing and taking care of the family.”
“It is my call and wish that our good leaders could help us see our needs and help to build a borehole or even water tanks for some of us who are living near the main road so that we can also access water and sanitation services, ” she said.
Lucia explained that back in the main village, they do have water supply and sanitation provided, but it is because of her family’s main need for an easier life for her children’s education, her family had to move out and face this challenge.
Besides facing this challenge Lucia is grateful on the other hand to where she now resides where she is able to sell her garden products as the only source of income to help support her family.
