Providing the source of life for the people of Walioya

By Damitha Chanaka – Assistant Programme Officer of Disaster Management Unit of Sri Lanka Red Cross

10/04/2012 – Welioya, Anuradhapura: Residents of Monarawewa and Gajabapura villages in Welioya will now have access to clean water as the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society’s (SLRCS) Anuradhapura Branch launched a massive well cleaning programme in these respective villages.

Many wells were cleaned during a four-day programme, which will benefit over 164 families living in these areas.

Residents of these villages are internally displaced and have been resettled recently. However most were not provided with the basic facilities such as access to safe drinking water.

Most of the wells were contaminated. As a result of this, people often suffered from water born diseases in the area.

This programme was launched in the sidelines of a volunteer training in order to strengthen the capacity of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Team of the Anuradhapura Branch under the SLRCS Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Programme.

Strengthening the Emergency Preparedness and Response Team

The training was facilitated by Imthiyas Kaleel the Water & Habitation Engineer of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in Sri Lanka.

Training includes water testing (such as PH, turbidity, conductivity and residual chlorine) measure the quantity of water and chlorine, method of chlorination and disinfection, water pump operation and possible failure of pumps, filling forms and safety measures.

With the training, ICRC donated well cleaning materials such as Water pumps, conductivity meter, pool tester, turbidity tube, ladder, hoses, and chlorine and safety materials to Anuradhapura branch and made it ready for emergency.