“Before, we used to fetch water from far away, in the next village. It was risky because it was close to the road,” recalls Maerich Buenavente.
Thirteen-year-old Maerich and her family of five live in Barangay Amtic, a village in the outskirts of Ligao City in the Province of Albay, Philippines. Her family lives off of banana farming.
For much of Maerich’s life, soon as she could, fetching water was always one of her household chores. “I’m the eldest. So, I fetch water every day using a cart. I’m very happy I don’t need to fetch water from so far anymore.”
On July 2018, Fundación Educación y Cooperación – EDUCO and the City Government of Ligao finally officially turned a water system to the community of Amtic, it’s to serve over 200 families, including Maerich and her family.
In Philippine communities where access to potable water is difficult, the government would set up communal water taps in strategic locations within the barangay. People would often be tapping on the newly laid out distribution pipes and create lines straight to their homes until eventually, the water doesn’t reach the communal water taps for poorer families.
According to the Ligao City Engineering Office, this is a common problem in water system projects in the Philippines. And, even when the water pressure and supply is consistent, a lot of it gets wasted. Since the tap is shared, the responsibility of its maintenance is distributed as well and therefore not one individual feels accountable. The tap stand itself gets dirtied, damaged, and then leaks occur.
“This project won’t be sustainable a meter system. We’re working on a resolution now with the City government and we hope to have this by August,” said Amtic Barangay Captain Ramil Orpiano. He vowed to quickly work on a resolution to install a meter system along with the water system.
Both barangay and city governments assure the people that the rate will be consulted, depending on the people’s capacity. It ensures that people watch each other from unauthorized tapping and that they won’t be liable for the water they don’t consume.
Project Coordinator Felix Ador said EDUCO is providing support worth over 9 million pesos to eight schools and communities in select municipalities of Albay and Camarines Sur. He said that the water systems were established to address the rights and well-being of children, particularly to good health and development.
Maerich now is a Junior High Student in Amtic. She’s a member of the Supreme Student Government and hopes that everyone in her community uses the water system properly. “I will monitor if they’re leaving packets of shampoo and soap on the tap stands. I’ll also report if there’s no water to our Barangay Captain,” she exclaims, determined to play a role as a member and child leader of her community.#
