Alawi Asid, whose displaced family now lives in the transition site in Taluksangay, says the new tap stands around their community – just like the one behind him – relieve them from traveling to a remote area to fetch clean water.Photo courtesy of CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / R. Ang
A news release by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on November 5 said that a community-based water supply system that can provide to over 4,000 people in Barangay Taluksangay,
The
project, supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and
the village and city authorities, is a long-term solution to the shortage of
water in this barangay (village), which hosts about 900 people displaced by the
armed fighting in 2013.
The project
was built by 80 displaced people who were employed in a cash-for-work
programme, with the ICRC providing materials and technical expertise. It was
recently handed over to the Taluksangay Water and Sanitation Association
(TAWASA), which was formed with ICRC support, and which will operate and
maintain the project. To help the TAWASA sustain the project, the ICRC gave
them tools, spare parts and office supplies.
Alawi Asid,
whose family was displaced from Layag-Layag said that, “Water was really scarce
here in Taluksangay. It was difficult. Now our lives are better – people in the
community no longer fight to get first in line. We can easily get water. We
don’t have to ride our banca (boat) anymore because the water source is
near”.
Clean water
started flowing from nine communal tap stands in September, reaching a total of
4,000 people in Taluksangay transition site, the nearby relocation site, and
the host community. More people stand to benefit as the water system has the
ability to cover additional localities in the barangay. Only half of the
capacity of the water source has been used so far.
“The ICRC
went beyond the engineering works, focusing also on community organization and
empowerment. The community took ownership of the project, and the system is
self-sustaining, making it able to last for years to come,” explained Marcel
Goyeneche, who heads the ICRC office in Zamboanga.
Since the
armed clashes in 2013, the ICRC has stayed on with the Philippine Red Cross to
support thousands of displaced people in Zamboanga in speeding up their
recovery and improving their health and living conditions. (Source: ICRC News
Release)
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/new/item/658-clean-water-supply-project-supported-by-icrc-inaugurated-in-taluksangay-zamboanga-city
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