Saradha looks over her vegetable farming near a community tap

 

Saradha Dhami lives in Dhami Gaun Pandora of Darchula district with her four children. Reflecting on how her life has recently improved, she recalls the old days of standing in a queue for hours to get her share of water from a public tap in a nearby village. That all changed after USAID’s Safe WASH II Activity supported the construction of Dhami Gau Pandora Drinking Water Supply Scheme, bringing water to 276 people in 40 households. As the Secretary of the Dhami Gau Drinking Water User Committee, Saradha was actively involved in making this transformation for her indigenous community group. With their own drinking water scheme and water tap stands, women and girls there are relieved to give less of their everyday lives to fetch water from a distance. At the water tap stand near Dhami’s house, she has managed to use water drainage from the tap stand for kitchen gardening and sells her vegetables in a nearby market. Other people in her village have also started supplying their kitchen gardens with waste water. “I have managed to grow vegetables and sell them in the local market,” she says. “The vegetables have become a good microincome generation activity. My family also has a regular supply of fresh and nutritious vegetables in the kitchen.” Saradha says “The Safe WASH II Activity provided awareness about hygiene and sanitation. It also constructed a drinking water supply scheme,” she adds. “Now, it’s our turn to take care of our drinking water scheme with good maintenance for its longevity.”