Building household water reservoirs in deprived rural communities

Access to Safe Water Protects Community Health

November 12, 2018

The house is on a slope and it’s far from the center of the village.

“The lack of water in my village caused my family and I to suffer from dehydration as the nearest source of water is about 3 kilometers away from our house. It takes me about four hours to walk across very rugged roads and return” said Asya.

Asya Ali Aboos, a 24 year-old widow, has four children. She and her family live at Al-Raqqa village in Hajjah Governorate. Asya goes on to say, “Her donkey used to get tired from walking such distances every day and consume some of the water loaded on its back.”

As the project aims to provide cash for vulnerable households in rural areas in return for constructing water reservoirs, Asya was not sure she would be able to apply to participate in the project since she is a widow and does not have a man who can help with building the reservoir.

“I felt helpless and sad. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to build the reservoir alone, but then I encouraged myself and decided to build the reservoir. I brought workers from my village and paid them to carry the rocks and build the reservoir while I helped and supervised them.”

According to Asya, the project enabled her to water for cooking, washing and drinking. Also, the money she gained from working helped provide basic needs for her family.

Asya proudly said, “Building the water reservoir didn’t only save my family from dehydration, but also gave me confidence as a women that helped me manage to make it happen despite the challenge.”

UNDP has partnered with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to implement the USD 3,000,000 WASH Emergency Crisis Response Project to improve quality water sources and appropriate sanitation and hygiene services through construction of water reservoirs and building latrines for vulnerable local households in deprived rural communities.