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Using the sun to sterilise water

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4786216.stm

 

Tanzanian villagers have begun using an energy-saving method to sterilise

their drinking water - leaving the water under the sun.

 

The piped water supply to Ndolela village in the central Iringa region is

intermittent and even when it does flow, it is not clean enough to drink. When

the pipes run dry, villagers get water from a dirty spring. Mother of five

Rose Longwa says the new process has changed her life. " We no longer suffer

from stomach illness. That's because the water is clean and safe. " Like many

other people in rural Africa with no access to safe drinking water, she used to

sterilise her water by boiling it. But she says the smoke from the firewood to

heat the water used to irritate her eyes. She is also glad she no longer has to

go to fetch wood from the bush. Ultra-violet rays About 40 houses in Ndolela

are using solar purification. Mrs Longwa says the process is simple to follow.

 

We need to educate the people

Daudi Makamba

Plan International

" I fill the plastic bottles, put the lids on, then put them on my

black-painted roof where they stay for a whole day. " The sun heats the water,

helped by the black roof, which helps to absorb the heat. Solar radiation

means a combination of ultra-violet rays and heat destroys the bacteria which

cause common water-borne diseases like cholera, typhoid, dysentery and

diahorrea. After eight hours in the sun, it is ready to drink. If the water

reaches more than 50C, it is safe in just one hour. Pastor Moses Kwanga from

the Diocese of Ruaha is behind the project: " The technology is very easy, but

up to now people have not been told about it. We can use old pieces of roofing

to put the bottles on. It is also very cheap, so is accessible to everyone. "

Resistance Up to now, the number of people in Tanzania purifying water using

the power of the sun is limited to a few villages like Ndolela, where

small-scale education programmes are underway.

 

Daudi Makamba is a water expert for the aid agency Plan International, which

is considering whether to introduce solar purification across the country. He

says it can be difficult to persuade people to use the technology. " The big

resistance from the community is cultural beliefs. People believe the water will

be contaminated, or an enemy will put something bad in it, so we need to educate

the people. " The technology is working well for at least one community in

Tanzania but more work is needed if more people are to taste the benefits.

World Water Day is on 22 March

 

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/4786216.stm

 

Published: 2006/03/22 01:43:00 GMT

 

© BBC MMVI

 

 

 

" Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest

of life by the power of the spirit. " - Aurobindo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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