Pakistan: case studies

WaterAid and its partners are helping communities to lay underground piping to rid the area of sewage.

Credit: WaterAid / Martin Punaks

New sewers change lives

Faisalabad is an industrial city in Pakistan surrounded by rural farmland. The draw of work in the city has led to an influx of poor migrants from the rural areas, many of whom have ended up living in extremely cramped conditions in low income settlements.

It is estimated that areas originally built for 200 people are now each housing an average of 7000 residents. The settlements have few, if any, services. Sewage flows into the streets forming stinking ponds, close to houses and in areas where children play.

Life in some of these districts is changing thanks to WaterAid and its partner Anjuman Samaji Behbood (ASB), who are helping communities living in these low income settlements install underground piping to channel sewage to the main municipal sewage line.

WaterAid and ASB are providing the technical know-how but the communities themselves are financing both the initial construction and the maintenance, and providing the necessary labor.

The new community sewers in the Hasan Pur slum have improved conditions no end. Irshad Bibi, a mother of six, has lived there since 1973 when her family moved from Sheikupura looking for work. "There used to be sewage on the streets, which made our homes subside. It used to sit there for so long with nowhere for it to go so the groundwater also became contaminated." she remembers.

Irshad Bibi washing her clothes.

Credit: WaterAid / Martin Punaks

"The streets outside were very dirty and smelly, my neighbor's child fell into the sewage when he was only ten months old. Quarrels between women would be bad.

"We would argue about whose rubbish and waste was causing a smell and children would find it hard to play. As there was no space our children would resort to staying inside the house, which was unhealthy - the children would then fight with each other. They would also get sick from being in the sewage."

She continues, telling how life has now improved: "We have been healthier since the project finished. When the lane was cleared and the sewage piped away, things in the street became better. The children play cricket in the street, the smell and the flies have gone and due to our success we have got the local government to pipe water to our area. Life is happier because the local women no longer argue."

Her husband Abdul Rezark, a lane manager in Hasan Pura, explains what his position involves and how the project works. "I was nominated as a lane manager by the residents on the street. I was then given training and technical assistance for this job by ASB. As a lane manager I collect the maintenance money from the local residents and I also manage the labor.

"My main job is to look after the credit system and ensure that it is benefiting everyone. The local residents all agree to pay a small amount to pay for the project. If residents cannot afford it, ASB can loan them the money but they must pay it back over several months. This is a self help project, we do not want anything for free."