Giving access to clean water
There are still communities in Malaysia who don’t have access to clean water, writes Tengku Munazirah Tengku Abdul Samad Shah
AS a social entrepreneur, my interest lies in sustainable projects and giving back to the community. However, having sustainable, clean water sources was something that I never explored before.
While supporting some causes for our society, it never crossed my mind that some Malaysians still face problems getting clean water supply.
Hence, when Laneige approached me to join its #WaterfulSharingCampaign this year, I was intrigued and decided to join the initiative to learn more.
The initiative aims to provide underprivileged communities access to a continuous supply of clean water. This year, it has expanded the targeted communities to an additional six rural villages with 770 residents from 114 homes.
The areas covered are Kampung Ulu Kampar, Perak; Kampung Pecah Bateri, Kampung Gong, Kampung Batu Gong, Kampung Paluh and Kampung Cerampak in Pahang. Proper water filtration systems will be installed in each house for ease of clean water consumption.
I had the opportunity to visit one of the affected villages, Kampung Pecah Bateri, to gain insight into their living conditions.
I saw the women walk half a kilometre with heavy jerry cans on their wheelbarrows or held in their hands, to collect murky water from a well, and a swamp. It was heart-wrenching, to say the least.
MUDDY WATER
The female population in these villages are responsible for the daily chores, which include getting water. The men work in nearby farms and factories. The water collected is used for drinking, washing clothes and cleaning up after themselves.
But the water is filled with bacteria, parasites, water spiders and waste that can cause a variety of debilitating diseases, including food poisoning and cholera.
It made me realise that there are still communities in this country that don’t have easy access to clean drinking water.
They walk 300 metres from their houses to the river when they want to take a bath. They go through bushes, thorny and fallen trees, and muddy soil just to clean themselves.
Sadly, not only is the river dirty, but the privacy to take a bath is also lacking. Once done bathing, they are soaked in sweat all over again as they make their way back to their homes.
No words could describe my emotions when I saw what they had to go through every day just to have access to water, and it is not even clean.
I am glad to see more corporations such as Laneige helping these communities.
The initiative is something that should be continued as a long-term effort to make a difference.
Those of us living in urban areas have easy access to clean water. We should make the effort to conserve water, including not taking long showers and turning off the tap while brushing our teeth.
These are a few simple things that can help our environment and educate the community on the hardships the rural residents face just to get water.
It is still not too late to lend a helping hand as the public can support Laneige’s 2018 Waterful Sharing Campaign by purchasing a bottle of water bank hydro or moisture essence, available at all Laneige boutiques and counters.
For each sale, RM10 will be directed towards the fund for the installation of the water filtration systems in the six villages.