Pakistan: case study

Amna Bibi, Dedsarh village, Tharpakar District.

Credit: WaterAid

Rooftop Water Harvesting Project brings hope to one of poorest Pakistan districts

District Tharparkar is situated in the extreme south-east of Pakistan and is largely comprised of the sandy Thar Desert. It is ranked by the World Food Programme as the most food insecure of Pakistan's 120 districts. The condition of drinking water is contemptible and unfit for human consumption.

Amna Bibi, from Dedsarh village, explains how using brackish (saline contaminated) water affects local communities:

"Drinking this saline and muddy water makes our children get sick all the time. It causes various stomach diseases such as diarrhea and excessive vomiting that lead us to spend more money on our children's health than on their education."

"Not only this but using this water while taking bath or washing is also very dangerous as this water causes skin diseases such as boils and blisters all over our body and excessive hair loss and scabies. But as we have no other option therefore we are tended to take this brackish water for both our drinking and washing needs."

WaterAid have been working with Amna's community to secure a clean and safe water source.

A total of 32 household rooftop water-harvesting projects have now been completed in one of the poorest villages in Pakistan by WaterAid's local partner, the Sukkar Foundation. On a recent field visit to monitor progress, Programme Officer Nighat Sana met with a number of locals, and spoke with Amna about some of the challenges she faces every day living in the region. Nighat recalls the meeting:

"I was not purposefully collecting case studies or success stories, but found myself speaking to Amna, a courageous, inspirational and strong woman. Her daily routine activities included fetching water, which is really one of the toughest tasks to do under the temperature, usually over 50 degree Celsius in summers, rearing and tending children, looking after livestock and doing house chores. It really made me think how strong these women of Thar are! Being pregnant and doing the above mentioned tasks all by herself is indeed an achievement from my point of view."

Dedsarh village, Tharparkar District, was one of five villages that took part in the project.

Around 80% of people's livelihood in the area is dependent on rain-fed agriculture and livestock, and drought occurs every three to four years that makes half the population migrate to the plains of Indus in the north. Dug wells are the only sustainable source of groundwater. On average villages spend up to six hours a day collecting water.

It is hoped the new systems will greatly improve the quality of life for those in the region, especially women who have the main burden of fetching water.