DEOGARH DISTRICT, JHARKHAND – Meet Dular Murmu, a 30-year-old woman from Pandanatan village of the Deogarh district in Jharkhand, India. She belongs to the Santhal tribe, the third largest tribe in India. The occupation of the Santhals revolves around the forests in which they reside. Their basic needs are fulfilled from trees and plants of the forests. They are also engaged in hunting, fishing and cultivation for their livelihood. Dular lives with her husband and three children. Her husband works as a daily wage labourer. Her family became an outcast in the village due to caste issue and were prohibited to fetch water from the community wells.
Dular along with her family were forced to live outside the village where they built a hut to live in. They hand dug a well near their house for their personal use as there was no other water source nearby. However, the drawback for such wells is that they are often shallow and impurities from the surface easily reach the water body which leads to a greater risk of contamination. Contaminated wells can lead to the spread of various waterborne diseases. It can easily turn in to a home for frogs and snakes. During the rainy season, when the weather was unpredictable, Dular used to walk quite a distance in the thunderous rain to fetch clean water from the nearby stream. Her children often fell sick from drinking contaminated water and their poor financial condition did not allow them to take their sick children to the doctor nor were they able to provide clean drinking water.
The Gift of Clean Water
When Operation Blessing learnt about the dire need of clean drinking water around Dular’s family settlement, they set up a clean water well near her house. She has happiness written all over her face as the struggle for getting clean drinking water is over. She shares the water well with a small community living in that area. Because of partners like YOU, the impact of your generosity has been truly life-changing for Dular and her family, and the community.
