This mom wanted the best thing for her children and that is safe water
Doli is proud of her family. She and her husband work hard to care for their three children - ages fourteen, seven, and one. Doli’s kids are her everything. While her husband farms shrimp to earn income for their family, Doli diligently cares for the children ensuring they have clean clothing, food to eat, and that the oldest two children make it to school each day.
While her older children are at school, Doli cares for her 13 month old baby and manages the housework.
Doli shared the challenges her family faced before they financed a safe water solution for their home. She explained that she used to walk to another village to collect water in vases at least twice a day. Some days her husband would take time from work to carry larger drums to fill with water, vessels which were too heavy for her to carry alone.
Doli holds a glass of water she collected from the pond.
When factors like monsoons or temperatures prevented her long journey to collect water, Doli would collect it from a nearby pond. Unfortunately, that water caused her children many illnesses because it was, as Doli described it, “dirty water.” As a last resort for giving her children the water they needed, Doli would position large drums along her home’s exterior, beneath the bows of her roof with hopes of collecting enough rain for drinking, bathing, and cooking that day.
“It was quite common for my family members to contract diarrhea or other water-borne diseases due to this contaminated water.”
Doli walks her former path to collect water.
The effects of climate change, imbalances in economic improvement, and international water-related tension with its bordering countries are some of the reasons Bangladesh has a significant need for safe water and sanitation development. Water.org finds the country’s healthy microfinance sector and government support to be a favorable combination for doing our part to help increase access to affordable, sustainable safe water and sanitation solutions.
“I never imagined that we would have the ability to install a tank or a pump in our house.”
To date we’ve reached more than 9.7 million people in the country and Doli and her family are some of those people whose lives are changed now that they have a water pump and storage tank on their property.
In thinking about the multiple ways in which she tried to piece together enough water for her family before, Doli explained, “I never imagined that we would have the ability to install a tank or a pump in our house.”
Doli is thankful she has water readily available to her family at home.
"I thought it was the best thing for my children."
A small loan to be repaid through a set number of, what Doli explained to be affordable payments of about $25 a month, has offered Doli and her family a new life. In looking back at her decision to take out a small loan for her household water solution, Doli recalled, “I thought that if the [water] pump is set up, water would become easily available, and this would take care of the water issues we were facing. I also thought it was the best thing to do for my children.”
The young mother is proud she was able to do the best thing for her children by giving them a lasting safe water solution at home and the health and hope that flow from it.
