Pillar Talk
Paul’s Zambia Diary
The 2012 WaterAid trip to Zambia was a week I’ll never forget.
We spent the eight day trip visiting communities at different stages of development to give us an insight into the water and sanitation issues faced in the developing world and the amazing work WaterAid does to address these issues.
Our first day in Zambia was spent in Haboombe village which is a pre-intervention, rural community with no access to safe water or toilet facilities. The water the local villagers drink is extremely dirty and is also used as a drinking source by local animals and for all other day to day tasks.
We spent some time in a pre-intervention, high density slum in the centre of Lusaka. This was a difficult day as we saw first hand exactly why WaterAid are so badly needed. We saw children bathing and washing clothes and dishes in a stream contaminated with rubbish and sewage. Local families had created over-flows from their latrines into the stream as they can’t afford the charge to have the sewage emptied. This sewage was then contaminating the same stream that is used for day to day tasks.
We also visited Mavwili village which is a post intervention, rural community. This is a shining WaterAid success story as the community really took WaterAid’s education to heart and had set up committees to look after their water and sanitation services and they now have 100% sanitation coverage. A clear example of why WaterAid fundraising makes such a huge difference.
The key message I left Zambia with was that the approach WaterAid takes to delivering water and sanitation services to communities in need really works. They don’t just install toilet facilities and hand pumps, they educate communities and make sure they can take ownership for their own services in order to develop as a community. It was 100% clear that the money we raise for WaterAid year on year makes a world of difference to so many people.
Please go to
www.wateraid.org and get involved in any way you can.
Paul Davidson 13
World Water Day 22nd March 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32