Ankaboka

This pump was built in 2009 and functions well according to the members of the committee. They explained that the water is always available throughout the year and the taste of the water is good and has never changed, despite the fact that is is widely used. Daily use approaches 100 households and in the dry season this number is far exceeded, as some users come to fetch water from 2 km away. It has been repaired once by Bertin in 2016.

Since the pump’s arrival their health has improved and the stomach maladies like diarrhea have disappeared. One lady told us that: “none of my children have diarrhea anymore”.

 

The committee consists of 5 men and 2 women and they only collect money in case it needs to be repaired. They try to collect 500 ariary per household. The responsibility of the committee is to beautify the pump and control the working of it.

A few women sitting next to the pump explain to us that the big difference in their lives now with the pump is that they save money because they don’t need to send their kids to the hospital and buy expensive medicine. The treatment for stomach maladies cost around 5000 - 6000 ariary, which they often cannot afford. They can use the money they save for buying food, sugar and petrol to light a candle, for example. They also explain that they have some extra time left now they don’t have to boil the water before drinking.

A few more people gather as we sit around the pump and they explain that the pump contributes to fihavanana because it improves the communication between people and everybody is allowed to use it. They also believed it has strengthened the development of the tanindrazana, the bond with their ancestral land. This sub-village consists of antemore people who all share the same tanindrazana, but it is found elsewhere. So at some point in life, when they are very old, they will all return to their tanindrazana.