Do the People of Bangladesh Have to Pay for the Global Warming Others Caused?


“Water is the other name of life. We are poor, and due to poverty, we were unable to drink pure drinking water. We had to collect water from distant places. The deep tubewell set up by Zakat Foundation is like a blessing from God. We remain ever grateful to Zakat Foundation,” said Alatun Nesa, a 40-year old lady, married to a rickshaw puller, with two sons and two daughters, living in the Rajshahi district.

In the first quarter of 2016, a total of 22 tubewells were set up and installed in the Poba sub-district, in the district of Rajshahi. Most of the people in this area were poor and greatly affected by the erosion of the Padma riverbank. The greatest problem is there is a huge demand for pure water because there is arsenic in the water there. Those who are well-off set up deep tubewells to collect water from deep underground, which the poor most certainly cannot afford. ZFAB implemented 22 tube wells to provide arsenic-free, pure water for the local people.

Each tube well has benefited 10 families, on average. By setting up a total of 22 tubewells, around 220 families consisting of 1,200 family members have gained sustainable access to pure drinking water. Besides drinking, they can use the water from the tubewells for all their other household needs, including cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, and bathing.

A year ago, these people not only had no access to water supply, but they also did not own a pond of their own. The tubewell water is a long-lasting tool, part of a Sadaqa Jariyah program, that helped them with their daily necessary household works.

The tube wells Zakat Foundation set up are seen by the village people as a great blessing from God. These tubewells will not only serve their daily water needs, but also prevent them from being afflicted by unclean water-borne diseases. Before the wells were implemented, beneficiaries did not imagine their water problem would be solved so suddenly and quickly.

They pray to God to give lifelong blessings the donors who helped.