I. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT:
1. Implementation Context:
The residents of Lung Ho 1 are struggling due to a lack of clean water.
At the end of June, we visited Lung Ho 1, a particularly disadvantaged village in Lung Ho commune, Yen Minh district, Ha Giang province. Although the summer showers were brief, they provided temporary relief to the residents, easing their concerns about the lack of water for daily use in the coming days. Situated at an altitude of over 1,200 meters above sea level, with a mountainous terrain, the villagers mainly rely on underground water sources from mountain crevices through a gravity-fed water supply system.
The villagers patch up broken pipes to keep the water flowing
The valves of the central water storage tank are damaged and no longer functional
Following the narrow path leading into the village, we encountered broken and damaged water pipes, joints connected in segments, dry and nearly abandoned water storage tanks. The community's gravity-fed water system in Lung Ho 1 was constructed by the government about 25 years ago. After many years of use, the infrastructure has deteriorated, with significant damage in many areas, causing water wastage. It no longer provides sufficient water for the 43 households, totaling 225 people (53.5% poor households, 96% of the population is H'Mong) in Lung Ho 1, as well as the 1,155 students at the ethnic boarding primary and secondary school in Lung Ho commune. However, due to the economic difficulties of the people in Lung Ho 1 and limited local government budget allocated for maintenance, repairs have yet to be made. During the dry months, life becomes even harder for the villagers as water shortages occur more frequently. Many households are forced to use unhygienic and unsafe water sources, which pose a risk of waterborne diseases, eye infections, and particularly affect children and women.
Many households are using unhygienic water sources.
The water storage tanks of the people are always in a state of depletion, lacking water.
Teacher Nguyen Kim Doan, from the ethnic boarding primary school in Lung Ho, shared: "The water supply is insufficient, especially during the dry season, so every year the school has to pump water from a reservoir in a neighboring village, on average 2-4 times a year, and store it in the tanks. Water usage is also highly restricted; the school only opens the water during limited hours for the students to prevent wastage."
The students of the ethnic boarding primary school in Lung Ho.
Water is a source of life, the most essential need for humans. For people in urban areas, it is a given and readily available, but for the people of Lung Ho 1 village and the students of the ethnic boarding primary and secondary school, it is a precious resource. They deeply understand the difficulties and hardships of enduring the dry months without access to water.
2. Project implementation period: From October, 2021 to February, 2022.
3. Method of project implementation:
– Assign the people of Lung Ho 1 village to organize the implementation of the project in the form of Community management, overseeing the entire project execution process.
– Local authorities at all levels and project staff from the RIC Center provide support in methods and technical expertise.
II. ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Maintenance of the pipeline system from the water source to the central storage tank, and replacement of a 200 - meter - long damaged water pipe with a 76mm galvanized pipe.
- A new water filtration tank was built at the water source, made of brick and concrete with reinforced steel, measuring 4 meters in length, 3 meters in width, and 1.7 meters in height.
- Maintenance of a 15m³ central water storage tank.
- Construct a new centralized water tank at Lung Ho Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities: made of cement bricks, the lid is poured with reinforced concrete, 5m long, 4m wide and 1.5m high (volume of 30m3 of water).
