Marofarihy market

This lady, Lies, says she feels very lucky. She owns a shop next to the pump and has access to clean water all the time. She also lives next to a pump, so at home she also has access to potable water. She is a committee member of this pump and explains the advantages of having clean water:

“We used to call the dry season (October - December) ‘saison de mal au ventre’ (season of stomach ache), but now we can drink water without a problem. Our children are free from diarrhea which saves us a lot of money from buying medicine and sur’Eau (purification liquid).”

Water committee of the market pump

This pump is one of the most widely used in Marofarihy because of the Thursday market. The committee is very tolerant and allows non-villagers and passers-by to use the pump, because it is for everybody who comes to the market too. They only collect money when the pump breaks down (500 ariary per household). If you cannot pay the fee, you are exempted from it until you can. The committee is responsible for collecting money, keeping the pump clean and opening and locking the pump. It is open from 6:00 am until 18:30 pm every day.

Marofarihy market