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Hi everyone! Robert asked me to get this journal out. And today's journal was written by Anh, our ideal team player and great team leader. Anh led the team to do the second distribution of water filters to provide clean water to the people in Tay Giang district of Quang Nam province after the NOUL typhoon happened on Sept 18th. Here it comes!
It took us nearly four and half hours to get to the distribution place though the road which was terribly challenged. However, it was worth to be here to meet the people with a huge desire for clean water. Having clean water to cook meals and drink at this time is a big challenge to them. To months without typhoon and flood, they can access to "clear water" directly from streams, but at this time it is impossible because the entire pipe system was swept away. They have to adapt to the "yellow muddy" water from paddy fields or river near by for their daily activities. For entire time in their life, clean water is not something in the category of their life items but now it's time to change!!! They got water filters.
Today, we reached to Alang commune, Tay Giang district to distribute another 96 filters. The people were so much happy and focused on our instruction. From now on, they know that these small filters can help their health improved and can change lots of things by the way.
In Vietnam, especially in mountainous areas it's now a rainy time and they have to use the water that comes with dust and sludge from stream. Even they know it is not safe enough, they have no other choice. They said that when they cooked rice, the rice turned dark or red. The water often has foul smell because of animals, cows and buffaloes that frequent to streams. And very often they have to face with some kinds of diseases such as diarrhea, skin rashes or headache. It was awful but from this day, they will no longer suffer from these things. A healthy and happy life is coming to their way!
Alang Thi Niec's story
"I'm totally exhausted" - that was what Alang Thi Niec said when being asked how she was doing these days. Water scarcity is the reason that leads to her current suffering. The water supply in her neighborhood is contaminated so she has to go to a faraway village to take some water back for her family. Not only fetching for drinking and cooking, Niec also has to load clothes on a big basket and go to that village to wash them. "There are so many people there that I need to wait in a long line. I try to do all the house chores in the morning and feed my three children so that I can start heading to the village to take water. I go there at 12 o'clock, waiting and not going back home until 5 p.m. My youngest child is only 11 months so she cries when I am not with her, but I have no choice. This is so tiring for me.", Niec said. While GIBTK's staff demonstrating how to use the filter, Niec focused and tried to follow the guidance as accurately as possible. At the end of the distribution when other people left, Niec was lingering at the door. We thought she needed something else but it turned out that she stayed behind just to say thank you because the filter means so much to her. Maybe she does not know but her relieved smile and the happy gleam of light in her eyes mean so much more to us!
Abling Luoi's story
Being the breadwinner of the family but these days what Abling Luoi is doing is only searching for usable water. Twice a day, he travels (by motorbike and when he does not have money to buy gasoline, he walks) for more than 30 minutes to another village located far from his home to ask for some water for his large family. Each day he can only get 30 litters of water which is not sufficient for his family of six people, but he can do nothing more. Luoi should have gone to work to provide food for his family but now he has to go to look for water. His parents are old while his wife is too weak to carry the water can. Luoi also knows the water in that village is not clean too, but it's better than his so he has to use. His kid is getting sick every day and sometimes gets itchy after the child has a shower, which clearly shows the problems in that water supply. Being amidst of concerns and worries of how life would be, Luoi received the water filter. He was amazed by how the filter works and by its sustainability. "Having this filter means that my family can have clean water to use in many years and if floods happen, at least we won't have to worry about water. It's really amazing! Now I can focus on working to feed my family. Thank you so much for reaching out to us!"
Sincerely,
Anh Nguyen
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