Introduction

The Indus Earth Trust is initiating a Safe Drinking Water through Solar Water Pumps initiative in Gujo Union Council, Thatta district, with financial support from the HBL Foundation, which has donated Rs. 2.5 million. The project intends to provide safe drinking water to five coastal communities in Gujo Union Council, Thatta, utilising technological advances known as “Solar Water Pumps.” The project focusses on women’s water difficulties; sadly, women are responsible for collecting water from vast distances for their families’ cooking and washing reasons.

The project will benefit 5 villages and 161 homes, totaling 715 people, and will aim to achieve SDGs 3 (Better Health and Wellbeing) and 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). The project will focus on water provision via 5 solar water pumps and substantial training for women in “Prevention from Water Borne Diseases”. The social mobilization process was carried out using a baseline survey, a Poverty Scorecard survey, and the formation of COs in each targeted hamlet. Health hygiene training, particularly for village women, is a key component of the project. It aims to reduce the strain of water carrying for women by making it more accessible to them.

Project Objectives

1. Poverty mapping of the villages
2. Community organization of the beneficiary villages
3. Identify the boring and hand pump locations for installation
4. Provide the Safe drinking water through Solar Water Pumps
5. Training to Women on Health & Hygiene

Community Meetings

Community meetings are an excellent way to interact with local residents in order to involve them in decision-making and provide suggestions for the implementation of project interventions. IET holds community meetings in each of the recipient villages. Community meetings are an appropriate forum for discussing project components, expected benefits, and the role of communities. Long-term benefits of the safe drinking water project include improved community health, particularly for women and children, community empowerment, increased economic status, environmental restoration, and an improvement in the quality of life in the Gujo Union Council, Thatta district through health hygiene training and water provision. Community meetings provide valuable information and links to techniques, direction, and tools for developing an effective community engagement program.

Poverty Survey of the Villages (PSC)

IET uses the Poverty Scorecard to identify project beneficiaries. The Poverty Scorecard is administered by a survey that collects household data. The information gathered is then utilized to construct a database and plan projects with the recipients’ needs and objectives in mind. Through this procedure, persons designated as ultra-poor and vulnerable poor are helped to benefit from IET interventions that are tailored to the needs and requirements of the community, households, and individual. This process allows IET to cooperate with community institutions, members, and individuals to provide a clear and holistic picture of the needs for its targeted interventions while also ensuring that the demands of all stakeholders are met.

Health & Hygiene Training

IET has a strong belief in community capacity building, such as equipping locals with skills and knowledge about their health concerns. IET created a comprehensive training program for women called “Prevention from Water Borne Diseases,” which is aimed to aware and educate the coastal communities and especially women. The program seeks to improve local women’s knowledge, skills, and capabilities in waterborne illness prevention, how to minimize the rate of waterborne diseases, preventive measures, local methods of water purification, and safe water storage. It allows participants to develop their skills in order to enhance their health, particularly that of their children. Training sessions will benefit women from five villages.

Drinking Water Supply – Solar Water Pumps

Identified as a needy village with a dearth of safe drinking water, women travel significant distances to gather water for their families. Five bore holes measuring 10 inches in diameter and 35 to 45 feet deep have been completed. Following the completion of the drilling work, the 15-foot-high block towers and RCC water tanks were built on top of all five towers. A total of 5 solar water pumps have been installed. All solar water pumps are operational; however, two solar water pumps are being tested.

Technological Innovations – Solar Water Pumps

Technology-based water projects, such as solar water pumps, are critical for development. In accordance with IET’s participatory development strategy, the program identifies, prioritizes, and implements projects after consulting with communities through Community Organizations (CO). Community ownership is essential for long-term growth, particularly technological engagement. Communities are also responsible for operational maintenance. According to the specifications of the solar water pump, it can produce up to 50 liters of water per minute and a minimum of 15 liters per minute. This is adaptable to the needs of the village population and is dependent on the amount of underground water available.

Community organization of the village will be responsible to maintain and care of the project and keep functional the project at least 10 years, because the life of the Solar equipment’s is sufficient as below

• Solar Panel Life is 5 Years & Warranty is 2 Years
• Solar Water Pump Life is 05 Years & Warranty is 1 Year
• VFD Drive 1 Year Warranty
• Bricks tower is strong enough for the 20 years

Operation & Maintenance After warranty period, if need some maintenance or repairing in case of natural or man-made damage, Community organization has own savings for maintenance & repairing, which is collected from the village members. Rs. 100/ Month. This is regular savings of the villagers for the maintenance of the project equipment’s.