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  1. Background of the Problem

Water is a basic need and according to the United Nations access to it is also a human right. It is an essential part of daily life and in maintaining good health. Safe water is utilized by humans through sanitation, food production, and hydration. Unsafe drinking water can lead to so many serious health conditions and even death. Every year many people, most especially children, suffer from dehydration and electrolyte imbalances caused by diarrheal diseases. It might be an easily preventable problem, but still many people are seriously affected by this especially those living in poverty-stricken communities where water is considered a luxury. In these areas, water sources are usually communal or public and there is no purification method used for drinking water.

In Barangay Maras, there are a couple of different water sources used by the residents and most of them are communal and are not yet confirmed to be potable.  The households situated near the highway get their drinking water from a dug wells with hand pump and a few would buy from the nearby water-refilling station. Some households are connected to the piped spring water system established by the Local Officials but the water is rationed and still limited. Along the highway, an average of 25-30 households share 1 water source. In the areas far from the main road, drinking water is taken from an open dug well or a protected spring. Purok Waling-Waling is the only purok that has no water source of its own and people would walk in distances even as far as 200 meters through dense grasslands and narrow roads on top of cliffs just to get water.  In terms of water storage and purification, the residents utilize covered containers, which most of them clean regularly, but not all purify their drinking water.

  1. Solution

To manage these problems, approaches must be focused on changing the negative practices of the community, mobilize the people, and utilize available resources to improve the situation of the water sources.

  1. Sustainability

Community involvement is the best way to ascertain sustainability of the programs that will be implemented. All throughout the process, from the identification of the problem up to the evaluation of results, the people must be actively involved to instill the sense of ownership and cooperation in them. The local leaders must also be empowered so that they will be motivated to guide the people effectively and provide independent decisions in managing the projects.

unsafe drinking water update

JANUARY 2020 IMPLEMENTATION

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            The outcome is always better if the people are working together.

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         To ensure sustainability and to give the people a sense of ownership of the program for unsafe drinking water, a core group was organized consisting of barangay leaders and organization heads which will function as the organizing and monitoring body of the program on water sanitation. Invitation letters were sent to the schools, the barangay health station, and the barangay office requesting for their participation. Last January 28, 2020, in partnership with the Solid Waste Management Program in-charge, the Maras Association for Sanitation (MarAS) was launched headed by Hon. Gemma Vallecer, the elected president of the group and the current barangay captain. The members include the representatives from the 4 schools, all barangay officials and staff, and the barangay health station workers.

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            After the election of officers, the program was reintroduced to the group members. The data based on the survey conducted was shown and the problem was explained. Their roles and functions were then discussed. The findings of the water source assessment and the results of the inquiry on water analysis were also reported. An open forum was done afterwards and the planning for future programs commenced. Future plans include school advocacies on diarrheal diseases and preventive practices, training on water purification methods, and water analysis. A brief lecture with a pre-test and post-test was also done to assess the participants’ knowledge of the program.

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            With a clearer and bigger picture of the whole situation, the group pledged to contribute and cooperate to ameliorate the status of the barangay regarding water and sanitation.

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January 2020 Accomplishments:

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  • Drafted a letter of request and visited the Sanitary Inspector for the conduct of seminars on water purification techniques.

  • Participated in the Family Development Session of 4Ps Beneficiaries and discussed abour water-borne diseases and how to prevent them.

  • Conducted an assembly at Purok Dipodog and discussed about the different water-borne diseases and the importance of preventive measures.

  • Coordinated with the LGU and Barangay Officials to identify existing national and local ordinances and policies regarding water sanitation and assessed their functionality.

  • Tracked past and present cases of diarrheal diseases per Purok based on the house-to-house survey and assessed for possible contamination of food and water. (Tracked 17 cases)

  • Identified all existing public drinking water sources in the barangay and plotted them on a spot map. (26 public drinking water sources identified)

  • Conducted inspection and profiling of identified water sources and classified them based on the guidelines set by WHO’s Healthy Villages. (Out of the 26 identified, 20 were classified as “high risk” and 6 were classified as “low risk”).

  • Coordinated with the Sanitation Office for the policies and requirements for water analysis.

  • Identified accredited laboratories for water testing and visited them for inquiry. A letter of request was also sent to Zamboanga del Norte Medical Center – Laboratory Department for financial assistance and was approved by the hospital chief.

  • Facilitated the formation of the Maras Association for Sanitation (MarAS) in partnership with the Solid Waste Management Program for the monitoring and maintenance of projects.

 

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Upcoming Activities:

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  • Following the protocols of social distancing, wearing of face masks, disinfection, and limiting movement to only essentials in the context of COVID-19 New Normal Setting, the following upcoming activities are as follows:

    • Information Campaign

      • Distribution of pamphlets and IEC materials about water-borne diseases   

      • Continuation of Purok-to-Purok assembly

      • Conduct a seminar on water sanitation and the proper methods of water purification

      • Setting-up of posters in public places about proper handling of drinking water

    • Policy Identification

    • Lobby for the creation of the barangay’s own ordinance on water sanitation and water quality management system

    • Rehabilitation of water sources

    • Coordinate with the LGU and Barangay Officials to discuss budget allocation for water analysis and source rehabilitation of “high-risk” water sources

    • Establish potability of water through bacteriologic testing

    • Tap NGOs for material and financial aid

    • Core Group development

    • Coordinate with the SI to conduct a training/seminar among core group members on the proper procedure for water disinfection (chlorination).

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