Bringing water to villages

By Madhushala Senaratne

Poverty-stricken villagers living in rural parts of Sri Lanka lack access to some of the basic resources such as food, shelter and water. Living metres away from Tiger guerrilla camps makes the situation even worse. Continuing their efforts to provide a better life for the less-fortunate women in the country, the Business and Professional Women, Sri Lanka (BPWSL) has organized “Music for a Cause II” to raise funds for the second phase of their ongoing water project in Illukpitiya.

In 2003, BPWSL launched the Global Peace Village in Illukpitiya in the Polonnaruwa district, where houses were constructed for the internally-displaced and poverty stricken families. To make this a truly global village, BPWSL worked towards providing the villagers with other facilities such as paved roads, lands for farming and access to water.

“Water is scarce in this area and villagers have to travel many miles to fetch water. With no proper access to clean drinking water, many have fallen sick. This puts them in even worse economic conditions, as they then need to travel far for treatment,” said BPWSL president Rohini Cooray.

The first phase of the water project was to provide access to clean drinking water. With the help of the Rotary Club of Colombo Metropolitan, BPWSL put up a water tank complete with the relevant electrical equipment and pump. The 40 feet high, 2000-gallon water tank provided purified, filtered water (WHO approved standard) to over 150 families in Illukpitiya and the nearby villages of Gaminipura and Palliyagodalla. The cost of over Rs. 2.5 million was met by the Rotary Club of Colombo Metropolitan, Ms Cooray said.

The second phase of the water project aims to clean out an ancient wewa, thereby providing water for irrigation and agricultural purposes, Ms. Cooray said. There are five tanks in the surrounding area and they hope to clean at least one of them.

“Our main aim is to help villagers earn a living for themselves, develop their own livelihoods and thereby make them independent and self-sufficient,” she added. Paddy cultivation and farming is their main occupation and most of the villagers have to travel far for work as their lands are not suitable for cultivation.

It is a long ride to the Peace Village from Colombo well over six hours. Yet this group of determined women have resolved to make a difference. An organization for women by women, BPWSL aims to raise the status and quality of living of women in Sri Lanka. BPWSL is affiliated to Business and Professional Women International (BPW).