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Rishilpi Water Treatment Plant Project From unsafe to safe drinking water

Report on the Effectiveness of Community Filter

at Faizullapur Rishi Para Village

PROGETTO UOMO RISHILPI INTERNATIONAL ONLUS works for disadvantaged communities in

rural Bangladesh. Faizullapur village is located in the Satkhira district; among others, there are

64 Rishi families living there, so the community is known as Faizullapur RISHI PARA. Rishilpi is

operating since time in this village with a Community Primary School (CPS).

The majority of Faizullapur community people (Rishi Para) are poor and maximum of their

livelihood depends on their inherited profession such

as bamboo crafts, saloon works and leathers works.

This type of community is vulnerable due to caste

discrimination. Once, the Rishi people were treated as

untouchable people and nobody of them had access

to the house of mainstream of society; they could not

touch their tube well or even could not collect water

from their ponds. They were deprived of healthcare,

education, water and sanitation facility. The village

had no good facility for safe drinking water and

people were suffering from various water borne

diseases. Water available in the area is contaminated by salinity and ground water has high

level of Iron and Arsenic. Collect and reserve rainwater in the Jar/pot is one of the sources of

drinking water, but it was not easy for people leaving there, as their houses are not suitable to

collect rainwater.

The Water Treatment Plant (WTP) Project has focused the attention on the various problems

and has decided to intervene introducing an affordable technology to ensure sustainable water

source, thus preventing diseases caused by water and reducing the health risks caused by iron

and arsenic. The Community Filter (CF) is considered a very good affordable technology for

arsenic-iron removal: this type of filter is used to purify water in areas where it is pumped from

normal tube (around 150 feet deep) and results contaminated, not drinkable. The filter is used

with a 500 liters plastic tank, which contains the potable water.

In Faizullapur village live 430 people belonging to 92 families. Of these, 304 belong to the Rishi community and are part of 64 families. Due to their poverty and ignorance, the community people do not have the ability to arrange proper actions and / or investments for safe water collection. Even, they do not have knowledge of technology or processes to regular test the water quality. Thanks to funds contributed by Gli Amici di Francesco, Rishilpi WTP Project has installed a first CF in the village at the beginning of March, ensuring safe drinking water to more or less half people leaving there.

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The beneficiaries of Faizullapur village are

sincerely grateful to the donors for their kind

support to their village and especially to Rishi

people.

Thanks to GLI AMICI DI FRANCESCO, Rishilpi has been able to install two

precious Community Filters:

the first one at the beginning of March 2017

and the second one in June 2017!

During the Community Filter opening ceremony, many

persons wanted to express their happiness and thanks. Mr.

Ador Das (one of the Community Leaders and donor of the

land where the first filter has been installed) said that the

Community Filter really created a good opportunity for all

people to collect safe drinking water. Mr. Sushil Das is happy

to find the CF in their village and he is grateful to Rishilpi for

the installation. Mr. Abdul Aziz said that Rishi people were

vulnerable and suffered in water crisis, but now they have the

great opportunity to collect safe drinking water from the

community filter.

Everybody conveyed many thanks to the Donor GLI AMICI DI

FRANCESCO ONLUS.

During the month of March, village people could fully appreciate the good functioning of the

Community Filter. It was so successful, that during the regular visit of one Rishilpi's

representative, community people reported that water borne diseases (such as diarrhea,

dysentery, skin disease, arsenicosis skin problems and other diseases) were reducing

considerably compared to the past.

The External Auditor

and ODV ex 231/01 of

Progetto Uomo

Rishilpi Int’l Onlus,

Mrs. Clelia Pizzalli,

opens the Community

Filter at Faizullapur, in

the presence of the

President Monica Tosi

and the Director Enzo

Falcone.

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In this occasion, the other Leader of Faizullapur village asked if it should be possible to install a

second filter to meet the needs of all the remaining villagers.

WTP Project Team has been promptly involved in the issue. After having checked the

availability of funds, the Team immediately activated for installation.

Once installed and made functioning, really everybody expressed their happiness and

satisfaction for the new facility!

The other Land donor, Mr. Udoy Das, said this second Community Filter would create good

source of pure drinking water for all the remaining people. Mr. Jamuna Das expressed his

happiness to get the facility and he is grateful to Rishilpi. Mr. Liakot Ali told that Community

Filter will drastically reduce the water crisis for Rishi community!

Again, everybody conveyed many thanks to:

RISHILPI WATER TREATMENT PLANT TEAM and GLI AMICI DI FRANCESCO ONLUS !

Prepared by:

03.07.2017

Savaronjon Sikder Manager-Communication and Documentation Progetto Uomo Rishilpi International Onlus

Women of

Faizullahpur Rishi

Community are

collecting water from

the newly installed

Community Filter.

This is the second

Community Filter

installed by Rishilpi

Water Treatment

Plant Team.