DEOGARH DISTRICT, JHARKHAND – Meet Amita, a 23-year-old girl from Tailaboni village of the Deogarh district in Jharkhand, India. She belongs to the Santhal tribe, the third largest tribe of India. Amita is currently pursuing her graduation. She lost her father when she was a child and grew up with her mother and two siblings. Her mother worked hard to raise all her three children and provided them elementary education by working in the fields and sometimes as a labourer too. Her brother and sister moved to the nearby city after their marriages along with their families for better opportunities. Ever since, she has been responsible for taking care of her mother.
Amita was always keen to study and do well but because of their poor financial condition, she dropped out of school. She used to start the day by trekking to a stream located at about 2 kilometers away from their house to fetch water for the family. The water of the stream was always muddy and dirty. She used to fall sick many times. As there was no alternate water source, she was forced to continue to fetch water from the same stream. During the monsoon rains, it was almost impossible to get to the stream and as a result, the entire village struggled to get water.
Clean Water, Fresh Opportunity
When Operation Blessing learnt the dire need of clean drinking water in this area, the team dug a clean water well much to the relief of the villagers. Her life has become easier as she now has easy access to clean water. She is happy for the people in the village as they do not have to drink contaminated water anymore. Amita is hopeful that the overall health of the village will now improve. She is also a member of the Community Champions of the water well committee formed by Operation Blessing for the water well projects in the Jharkhand. This has given her a sense of financial independence and has opened doors for fresh opportunity. Amita is now working hard to complete her graduation and plans to pursue her postgraduation to make life better for herself and her mother.
