Think about what you use water for. For drinking water, cups of tea. For cooking your pasta and vegetables. For cleaning your teeth. For washing the dishes. For washing yourself. For cleaning the house. For flushing the toilet (even though it doesn’t matter if that’s a bit dirty). What if you didn’t have clean water? How quickly would you have it installed in your house? How much would you be willing to pay to get it?
I found out today how much money people at the UN get paid, which seemed to me to be very high. The lower positions are paid around $5,000 a month. Mid level managers might be $14,000 a month, higher level we’re talking about $20,000 or more a month. That’s so much! No wonder people want to work for the UN for the salary…. Compare that to the salaries of NGOs and it’s laughable – NGOs pay fairly (particularly when you consider we get accommodation and food provided) but not huge amounts. We’re probably talking around $4,000 a month for a mid-level manager.
In the Water and Sanitation project that we’re currently doing, it costs about $1,200 for the materials and labour for each water source that we protect. That provides improved, cleaner water for about 700 people (SPHERE quality guidelines say one source for 400 people but actually far more than that will use the source). Yet we’re limited in the work that we can do because of lack of funding. In the area where we’re working, there’s a population of about 16,000 people, sharing 24 sources of water. Of these, maybe a third have been improved during the past, but because of the war they have fallen into disrepair. With the money from Pooled Fund, we’re able to rehabilitate just 5 of them. That’ll make a difference to those people, but what about the others? In the town of Kalima, where we have our sub-base, the nearest water source is 7km away – we would love to get a gravity water system up and working there – if we can find the money. We have a vehicle which makes it easier to collect water – how would you feel about walking 14km every time you needed 20 litres of water?! Now there’s a week’s water challenge if any of your feel like taking it up!
Our Watsan Technician, Edgard, takes a sample at the source of Kambili.
The source at Kamundala. This is where families take water for drinking, cooking and everything else.
There’s also a challenge in there for any of us with money. What are we doing with it? When I was chatting to the guys about the UN salaries, my mind briefly flitted over the idea of working for the UN for a year, earning a lot of money and being able to use that to protect a lot of water sources. Then I realised that I can provide the day-to-day management of protecting the water sources which is not something that most people are in a position to be able to do. However, there are plenty of people who are earning the salaries (which isn’t something that I can currently do!) which can pay for the improvement of the water sources. So why don’t you?! Most people believe in giving a little to charity – why not give a lot?! And if money for a whole water source really is beyond you, get together with a few other people and give the money with them.
I’m not sure what the current $ - £ exchange rate is, but let’s say that one water source is £1,000 (to help cover transport, salaries and other overheads as well as the actual materials & labour). £1,000.
My question again - what would you give for clean water?
A few more statistics:
• 30% of people in this area do not make any income – they just about grow enough food to feed themselves.
• Of the 70% that do make any income, the average earning is somewhere in the region of 10,000FC-20,000FC a year (900FC to $1) which is about $10-$20 a year. Food costs about the same as the UK – a kg of meat is 8000FC ($9), rice is 1000FC per kg (just over a dollar).
• In Pangi territory (where we’re working) over 70% of children under 5 got diarrhoea within an 8 month period. Around 10% of all deaths from children under 5 are from diarrhoea - primarily caused by unsafe water.
• Only 1.2% of people in Pangi have got access to clean water.
“Look at what you’ve got. Take from it what you need. What is left is needed by others.” (St. Augustine)
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