GES Project Challenge: Providing Clean Water for Villagers in Kerala

Published May 07, 2009 @ 08:46AM PT

Summary: To build rainwater storage reservoirs and provide management training to conserve water, empower women, and boost community health in Kuttanad, India.

Project Needs and Beneficiaries: Eight out of ten of the 700,000 citizens of Kuttanad have no access to clean water. This scarcity results in over 20,000 cases of water-borne disease each year, millions of rupees in medical costs, and hours of physical labor spent collecting contaminated water. Women and children in the poorest neighborhoods suffer the most, and waste valuable time that could be spent on childcare, generating income, or gaining education.

Activities: We provide rainwater harvesting structures to reduce water-borne disease, unnecessary medical costs and physical labor. Each storage reservoir will capture rainwater for 20 years, empowering women financially and improving the community health.

Resources: Rainwater for Humanity website (http://rainwater.betterxdesign.org/)

Each weekday between now and May 8th, I'll be posting one or two project profiles of students participating in the annual Global Engagement Summit-GlobalGiving Project Challenge. The Challenge is a chance for students from around the world to raise money for and spread awareness about their projects. Students that mobilize also have a chance for additional matching resources. If you're interested in supporting this work, Tweet or blog about it or visit the project homepage on GlobalGiving.

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Author

Nathaniel is the founding Director of the Center for Global Engagement at Northwestern University, which works annually with hundreds of students in dozens of countries around the world through curricular programs and student project incubation.