Running dry!

Dependence on depleting groundwater for drinking purposes in rural India is on the rise as more accessible sources are drying up. Left on the brink of running out of water, it’s a growing crisis.

Groundwater is the lifeline for the majority of India, not least for the inhabitants of Rupamari Island, whose only source of clean, fresh water comes from water pumps.

We first received the awful news in June that, because of the declining water table, the government installed water pumps on the island were no longer giving water. This was also the case for the privately owned Rupamari School pump.

Hot, tired and thirsty

Together with the soaring 40 + degree heat, this meant that adults and children alike were hot, thirsty and suffering dehydration and stomach upsets from having to drink contaminated, stagnant water.

The government undertook to send in engineers to sink the pumps deeper. As soon as one pump was repaired, the suffering women and children would walk long distances in soaring temperatures to fetch water from a working pump. They had no alternative. Their survival depended on undertaking this gruelling, daily task.

Donor support

A husband and wife in the UK were told this news just one day after the Trustees had been notified. This couple already fully support Vision for Asia and are sponsoring a child at Rupamari School.

It was not long before they felt that they had to help to finance the repair work on this pump. And this is just what they did.

We are so grateful to the generosity of these people, and for people like them. Without this sort of support the lives of these children would be the poorer.

Thank You!

From the children of Rupamari School and the VfA Trustees
Work to lengthen the pipe
Sinking the extended pipe
Pump supported by bamboo canes prior to concreting base
Repair work completed