Engineering Water Solutions For Safer Drinking Needs Of Fiji’s Rural Communities. IMAGINE A DAY WITHOUT WATER …

Article by PDG Malini Raghwan, Assistant Regional Public Image Coordinator

Access to reliable safe water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene awareness, for Fiji’s rural community is a pressing need.

Rotary Pacific Water for Life Foundation (RPW) is a non-governmental organisation striving to provide access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation to Fiji’s rural population.

Without water rural communities are prone to water borne diseases including typhoid leptospirosis dengue and skin infections. These diseases become more exacerbated during cyclone season when many water sources become contaminated.

Water is an important element to everyone and especially both in communities and schools for drinking, cooking, washing, bathing and most important of all ensuring hygiene at all time

Poor performance of existing water systems, no proper water systems, limited to no skill available to design and build proper water systems, insufficient yield at water sources, high water leakages and unavailability of water treatment technologies are some of the reasons why access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation remains a challenge for many rural communities.

Naturally without water there will be no sanitation and women are at forefront of facing many social, economic and health issues such as being responsible for collecting water for cooking and drinking, ensuring children are prevented from water borne diseases and it would be difficult for women managing menstrual hygiene.

Working to change this situation, the Foundation constructs and rehabilitates surface and ground water systems, installs treatments systems for improved drinking water standards, constructs sanitation system with grey and black water treatment system and trains communities on water conservation and hygiene management.

One example of a project undertaken by the Foundation was the support given to the Batibalavu District School in Cakaudrove Province. The school had approached the Foundation to provide assistance with access to safe drinking water. After assessments, the Foundations engineers installed new surface water system with slow sand filtration treatment system.

COVID-19 makes access to reliable safe water, adequate sanitation, handwashing facilities, and hygiene promotion more critical than ever.

A simple tool to promote public health, handwashing is one of the most effective ways to prevent transmission of the disease—not just the COVID-19, but also diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid.

The Foundation partners with donor agencies, corporate philanthropic organisations and rural communities to deliver clean safe drinking water and proper sanitation. Major funders of the Foundation include Platinum Sponsor Vai Wai Natural Artesian Waters (Pleass Global), the New Zealand Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Rotary New Zealand World Community Service, European Union, Fiji Water Foundation and the Embassy of Japan.

Establishing and training rural water committees are important in promoting ownership of the water and sanitation systems and ensuring timely operations and maintenance for its sustainability.

Partnership with government including Ministry of Health, Department of Water and Sewerage, Mineral Resources Department and Provincial Administrators are vital delivering water and sanitation projects.

The foundation work is aligned to National Development Plans and Sustainability Development Goals.

Established by the Rotary Club of Suva East in 2007 and is today run by a Board made by of Rotarians from Clubs in Suva.

Each project undertaken is a huge exercise and take many manpower hours and investment. To date the Foundation has completed over 300 water projects valued at approximately over FJD7 million dollars.

If your community is facing water issues or you would like to help support our initiatives on the ground, please reach out to us: 

Phone: + 679 337 0177

Email:bula@rotarypacificwater.org

Website: www.rotarypacificwater.org