By Rachel Serotta | Associate, Development and Partnerships
BRINGING SAFE WATER TO CHILDREN IN INDIA: PROJECT UPDATE FEBRUARY 2011
With support through Global Giving, we have raised over $6,000 to support the installation and launch community water purification systems in 3 villages, Pochampalli, Katrapalli and Kothapalligori, in India to respond to an urgent need for safe water.
NEW SITE LAUNCHED: KATRAPALLI
On January 30, 2011, we launched the second of these three sites at Katrapalli in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The new water purification station is providing the 1,500 people in the village with access to clean and affordable water. To ensure that the village can run and maintain the system over the long-term, we have already provided local operators with training in operations, quality assurance and maintenance.
We are also very excited to announce that at the Katrapalli site we launched trials for a new remote monitoring system. This system will enable real‐time access for Safe Water Network project managers to site performance data (i.e. volumes, operational issues, and tracking of consumer purchases) through a web‐based program, which can be accessed from anywhere. That means our project managers can be alerted to and troubleshoot any operational issues as soon as they happen, and the people of Katrappalli have minimal disruptions in service.
UPDATE ON POCHAMPALLI SITE
Since launching the safe water station in Pochampalli on November 22, 2010, it has had a great start. In just 3 short months, Safe Water Network has achieved a 56% household penetration rate, meaning that 235 out of 460 households in the village are buying and using clean water provided by the safe water station. In January alone, the station sold over 60,000 liters of purified water to the community.
We have made other exciting progress at the Pochampalli site, putting in place a card tracking system that enables our team to track consumer behavior patterns , such as purchase and repeat purchase of water. By understanding the buying patterns of villagers, we are able to improve water delivery services to ensure that we are meeting the needs of the local community. In the coming months, we are looking to expand our reach, developing a distribution system to reach villagers who are beyond walking distance from the safe water station and providing many more with clean, affordable water.
GOING FORWARD: 2011
In the coming months, we aim to launch an additional project in the village of Kothapalligori to reach our project goal of providing access to over 8,000 people in 3 low-income villages in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. This project is one part of a large-scale impact plan to serve million more people in India—mostly in rural, poor areas—in need of safe water.
Thanks to the continued support from our network of friends and families that is continuing to make this project possible. As a result, we are enabling children to return to school; women to gain time for livelihoods; and communities to grow stronger.
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