Final visit of the trip

So, after what seems a very long week, we visited a post intervention urban slum near the centre of Dhaka Capital City.  The project we visited has been proceeding since 2007 in which time the residents have gained a fresh water supply from the Dhaka water authority and installed three sanitary latrine blocks.  The residents did have latrines prior to intervention, but they were poor quality and in the rainy season, and following blockages, the sewage from the latrine would overflow and run down the pathways of the slums and sometimes through peoples houses.  There would be puddles of stagnant water too.

The assistance from WaterAid partners has assisted the community in planning for their future, and in a similar way to what we have seen in previous projects, the community maps out the slum and notes areas of problems and at their monthly meetings the committee produce an action plan similar to how we would manage any project and they make decisions on how to solve the problems.  When working as a group they are able to contact the Dhaka water authority directly and now that the landlord has set them up with legal water supplies which they are billed for, they are treated like any other water company customer.

I spoke to a family who had moved into the area when the improvements were done, and they were happy with their situation, and lived better lives without the disease and poor conditions of before.  There is still something worth mentioning though.  These people are still incredibly poor, and the work that WaterAid and their partners has achieved will improve their quality of life dramatically, but is still a million miles away from anything that you or I would have to live with.

Finally, for those in the UK.  It's been about 31 degrees here today.  I still can't see any snow  :o)