The project will be implemented on the outer islands of Aranuka, Kuria and Marakei, to empower vulnerable rural communities. In these target islands, most households rely on open wells for domestic water. Shallow ground water is frequently contaminated with seawater, rubbish and human waste. This has increasingly a negative impact on health, especially for women, children, and infants. There is limited food production due to limited fresh water. Prolonged periods of droughts due to La Nina has also worsened the situation. Poor diet is also a leading to significant health issues, as this is compounded by limited public awareness of the links about water, sanitation, diet, hygiene, and health.
The goal of the project is to improve the health and wellbeing of these communities, through better access to and availability of water, increase access to nutritious food and improve community knowledge of health and hygiene. Through improved access to water, nutritious food, and knowledge about good health and hygiene, we expect that there will be an increase in overall community health and wellbeing.
Improved access to water located at proximity to home can play an important role for the quality of life, and safety of women and children and other vulnerable community members.
The project outcomes are:
1. More community members can readily access water
2. More households increase consumption of fresh produce
3. Community members have greater knowledge and understanding of personal hygiene practices, nutrition and household and environmental cleanliness
4. Women have stronger leadership roles in water management.
Leave a Reply