Water project Auki

Sometimes we can take our water taps for
granted. It is very different in parts of the
Pacific. The people of Auki in Solomon Islands
understand how important access to fresh
water is. Until recently, over 1000 people have
had to collect water from five old pipes which
only gave a small trickle of water. In 2012-13,
with funding from Caritas, the water system
and pipelines were repaired. The next stage of
the project is to extend the pipelines further,
to install taps and then lay concrete slabs for
people to stand on when they collect water.
Sixteen-year-old Maria told Caritas staff that
doing the family washing is much easier now.
It doesn’t take so long to wash the clothes or
to wash her brothers’ hair! The flow of water                                                         (photo care of CARITAS NZ)
from the pipes is much faster and there is a
pipeline closer to her home. Families can now
use their time for other important things, like
growing their vegetable gardens and doing
schoolwork.
This work will continue in 2014. Funds raised from schools will go towards this and teacher education in the Solomon Islands.