Voices from the field,
District Thatta
Beneficiary Name: Fatima w/o Ghulam Hyder , 35 years old, Shabana 15 yrs old, Sakina 63 yrs old
Village name: Razo Bhagul, & Jummu Machi , UC Jaar, Tehsil Sujawal, District Thatta
Village Background:
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| Village Razo Bhagul, M.E.A.L. Officer with the Villagers during the community visit. (File photo-SAFWCO) |
Razo Bhagul and Jummu Machi Villages are under union council Jaar, Tehsil Sujawal with population approximately 272 house holds (data from baseline survey 2011 ) the main source of livelihood is farming like planting of rice, tomato, mint leave, coriander, and sugar cane, crops for planting depends merely on the seasons. There is a huge land for planting usually own by the Land Lords, the Villager’s work as farmer keep maintaining the land and irrigating every after harvesting time of the year.
Before 2010 flooding in Pakistan village Razo Bhagul has only 1 hand pump utilize for drinking and household chores as well and used by almost 50 households, Villagers were engaged in farming as a means of sustenance for daily needs. Children were actively attending classes from the nearby government schools. The Villagers were living at least with a bit of conformability, though hygiene and sanitation is not really observed due to lack of awareness.
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| After flood scenario of affected Village Razo Bahgul, District Thatta (file photo-SAFWCO) |
During the flood village Razo Bhagul and Jummu Machi are among those villages severely affected their crops, houses, hand pump, school building everything were devastated nothing left only some house structures. The villagers were all displaced temporary squatting in the camps and old building. When the water ceded they had decided to return to what ever left by flood for them to reconstruct and start a new living. But now life becomes more and more difficult no available hand pump for water, no schools for the Children and the worse is that no work for food because farming field needs to rehabilitate.
Water, sanitation and Hygiene facilities were the dire necessities for restoration of living to cope with the flood impact and the epidemic spreading due to unhygienic water, food and environment in the affected villages.
Village Razo Bhagul, District Thatta,–“Open defecation is the only choices we have to ease the call of nature, since we can’t afford to build a proper toilet”.
SAFWCO –OXFAM –ECHO team gathered some feedback from the beneficiaries among those respondents who participated was Mrs. Fatima, she is a mother of 3 children 1 daughter, and 2 sons, age around 35 years old; her husband is a farmer she helps him to look after the rice field. She shared with us that, before the flood they have a house and work like farming. On sanitation aspect, she mentioned that “we dig for defecation then when it will be filled up we covered it and start to make a new hole this is a kind of latrine we can afford to”. “We took bathe in a canal and if we bath in the house we sewed cloth for blanket to cover us while we are bathing, “open defecation is the only choices we have to ease the immediate calls of nature, since we cannot afford to build a proper toilet”.
Majority of the villagers practice open defecation especially among children they don’t really care on the transmission of flies from faeces (Solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels) to the food as it carries bacteria that severely deteriorate individual’s health.
SAFWCO-OXFAM-ECHO constructed 22 latrine and bathing places in village Razo Bhagul & Jummu Machi, Mrs. Fatima said, “this is really helpful to us our difficulties in defecation have been resolved and it will minimize diseases, we can also save money from doctor’s fee and medication, it is indeed a financial and health support to all of us”.
Mrs. Fatima happily says, “I’m so thankful to God that at least we are safe, we survived the tremendous flooding, we are also grateful to SAFWCO-OXFAM-ECHO for their valuable support, with the presence of safe latrine and bathing places we can now easily defecate and bath with out fearing of being seen by others; the significant is that now we are enjoying a faeces free surroundings with good smell atmosphere that would benefit us for healthy life”.
District Thatta, “Hygiene awareness campaign and the distribution of Health Hygiene & NFI kits in our village give us hope for a new life and survival against diseases, we become aware of hygiene and sanitation effects to our life”.
She was eager to learn and easily absorb all the hygiene messages, she say’s, “I’m so happy that your team had reached our village this is a great opportunity for me and our entire village because all the hygiene activities I have learn through sessions and from radio campaign now I’ll put into action, it also a good start for me and my new family”.
She blissfully says, “since I’m starting a new life, so I begin my family with these Hygiene and NFI kits, I mean being a newly wed I’ve necessities of these things as we had not able to save anything of our belongings during the flood and have nothing left for me to start with at least with these things I’m so happy and full of hope that life is still beautiful, “ Hygiene awareness campaign and the distribution of Health Hygiene and NFI kits by SAFWCO-OXFAM-ECHO in our village give us hope for new life and survival against disease, we become aware of hygiene and sanitation effects to our life”. She’s quite blessed because she can read and write and her parents were supportive in sending her to school during primary level; only few of the villagers especially among woman who is able to read and write.
Village Jummu Machi, District Thatta, “ With the hand pump availability makes our life easy, “If truck will not reach our village we collected water to other villages which is like 15 to 20 km away from here, it consumes a lot of our time for walking and considering the burden of bringing gallon of water on our head, when we reach home we are so tire”.
“We’re women the most affected with un-availability of hand pump in our village, because we are the one who look after house work and the entire family need, my 7 sons work as laborer in the farms just to have some amount for food”. “We are always praying to have hand pump in our village, because it is really difficult to maintain hygiene and to do daily works with out water nearby to our village and to wait for truck loaded with water to come in our village”.
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| OXFAM-ECHO installed hand pump in village Jummu Machi, District Thatta, (file photo-SAFWCO) |
“Now with the intervention of SAFWCO-OXFAM-ECHO they had installed hand pumps with in our village , its make our life easy, at least with the availability of 2 hand pumps villagers will not quarrel with one other for waiting, it’s indeed an answered prayer to all of us, the money that we spend for buying water from truck we can save for other needs, with the lesson learnt during hygiene session we safe guard our health from diseases, we will take care of the hand pump and maintain the good condition it’s a precious gift to us”.
