http://viewchange.org Videos from ViewChange.org (Filtered by topics: Water supply network) en-us Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:21:00 +0000 Copyright 2011 Link Media, Inc. http://www.viewchange.org/videos/clean-water <p>Throughout the world, access to safe drinking water is the most critical element of sustained good health. Clean Water focuses on the highly successful efforts of one humanitarian organization, East Meets West, to bring safe drinking water to rural communities in Vietnam -- led by staff member Richard Brogdon, a Vietnam war veteran who has special reason to help the local Vietnamese community.</p> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:21:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/clean-water Drinking water, East Meets West Foundation, Vietnam, Foreign Assistance, Waterborne disease, Developing country, Water security, Rural area, Development aid, Poverty >> TITLE: Danang, Vietnam 5:30 a.m. >> VOICEOVER: Thirty years after the end of armed conflict, to most Americans the word "Vietnam" is still synonymous with the word "war." Meanwhile the Vietnamese, having survived centuries of war and foreign domination, are looking to the future and striving to build a modern nation. Finally at peace, Vietnam today is one of the world's fastest growing economies, but remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Perhaps the greatest challenge to a developing country is improving the health of its people. Sick adults can't work and sick children can't study. Throughout the world, access to safe drinking water is the most critical element that sustains good health. Yet safe drinking water is still lacking for almost half the world's population. >> TITLE: Clean Water >> VOICEOVER: In Vietnam, surface water is plentiful but usually polluted by chemicals from agricultural run-off, bacteria, and water-borne diseases. The health ministry estimates that almost 80 percent of serious childhood illnesses in Vietnam today are water related. Water-borne diseases, especially those that cause dysentery and diarrhea, are a major killer of children. Tackling basic problems of this scale requires collaboration of governments, international agencies, and humanitarian organizations working together to improve the quality of people's lives. >> VOICEOVER: The East Meets West Foundation is one of several humanitarian organizations addressing the critical need for safe drinking water in Vietnam. Country director Mark Conroy directs the East Meets West efforts. >> MARK CONROY [Overseas Director, East Meets West]: We're here to help the Vietnamese develop sustainable projects and programs. Water schemes, some loan programs. Mainly the programs are all developed around children and around education and health, and that encompasses most of what we do. >> VOICEOVER: Based in Da Nang city, East Meets West builds hospitals, libraries, orphanages, schools, bridges, damns, and housing. In all, over 150 building projects each year. The most well known projects, however, are self-sustaining safe drinking water systems for poor, rural communities. >> MARK CONROY: Over the years, of course, we've done a lot of water which you folks I know are interested in. Most of the programs and projects that were developed in the last 10 years were developed with the Vietnamese. They weren't developed outside, let's say for example in America, and brought here and implemented; they were actually developed in conjunction with working with the Vietnamese with their needs and with their input. >> VOICEOVER: In the rural areas outside of Da Nang, even with over 99 inches of rainfall per year, safe drinking water is difficult to find. Many people in Vietnam need to travel great distances, often every day, to find a well with safe drinking water, spending time which could otherwise be used to produce more income for their families. For Vietnamese girls, the exhausting daily job of collecting drinking water leaves the girls less time for studying and homework. >> DINH THI HOA: My name is Hoa. I am 15 years old. I live with my mother and four younger sisters and brothers. I am the oldest girl in the family, so I am the family water collector. My mom is very busy with her work and my younger sister is also too busy, so it's my responsibility every day to collect drinking water for the family. From my house to the well is about half a mile. Carrying the water is very heavy for me and the weight really hurts my legs. This is a problem but I have to do it anyway because, if I don't do this, my family won't have water to drink. >> VOICEOVER: Richard Brogdon is a veteran of the Vietnam War, and a former Peace Corps volunteer who has returned to Vietnam to do humanitarian work. Brogdon is one of thousands of former US soldiers now working to help the people of Vietnam. >> RICHARD BROGDON [Project Coordinator, East Meets West]: I came to Vietnam a little over three years ago. I had been out here during the war. In the Sixties, I was here for 20 months. After that tour, I swore that I would never return to Vietnam. It's hard for me to really describe why so many Vietnam veterans return. I've talked with a number of people and, by and large, they tell me that, you know, they feel an attachment. Many people mention the beauty of the country; it's a very beautiful country. And they talk about that, but mainly they just feel that there's something here, that they left something here and so they come for that. I come here to work and I come here because there are a lot of poor people. I come here to help them get clean water. >> RICHARD BROGDON: Good afternoon. Thank you for coming. We normally have these meetings because sometimes the cost involved or the work that has to be done for a water project is greater than some people want to spend or to be involved in. Our mission is really to help the people of Vietnam to become self-sufficient and to develop a better way of life. East Meets West will dig a well, will build a tank with a filter system, but you will be responsible to dig the trench from the tank, through the community, and run pipe to each of the house. >> VOICEOVER: In some areas, safe drinking water lies only 10 to 50 feet below the surface. But it can still take drilling many test wells before clean water is found. In the coastal, more sandy areas, the groundwater is often salty. >> RICHARD BROGDON: This is a small well that we're building here. The cost of drilling a well like this is less than a hundred dollars, so primarily it's the pipe and a couple of workers working for a day or two at the most: it depends on how deep they must go to get the water, good clean water. And we test the water when it comes out to see whether there's sufficient supply, see whether or not the minerals are clear so they can use it. >> VOICEOVER: Most drinking water comes out of the ground containing sediment and bad-tasting minerals like sulfur. Before it can be used for drinking, cooking, and bathing, the water needs to be aerated and filtered. This water tower, funded by the Rotary Clubs in New Mexico, provides safe, filtered drinking water to over 300 households in the nearby village. Nguyen Quy is the site supervisor for the safe water projects in Quang Nam province. Working with the local people, his message is simple and clear: Clean, filtered water is essential to good health. >> NGUYEN QUY [site supervisor, East Meets West]: We need to make sure the pipe trench is at least 50cm deep to guarantee the quality of the water pipeline. >> VOICEOVER: East Meets West provides the pumps, towers, and pipe, while the local community provides the manpower to bury the pipes down the main streets and to each of the 300 households. East Meets West is the only humanitarian organization in Vietnam that delivers water not just to the local well but all the way to peoples homes. It's a collaborative effort, with each family required to buy a water meter and to install their own plumbing before they're hooked up to the main water lines. This is a financially sustainable model with each community electing a water manager who collects a modest water-use fee, usually about 20 cents per week. This small but steady income maintains the water system and pays for the electricity. >> NGUYEN QUY: The reason we install the water meter is because we need to know how much water the local people consume and to make sure they pay for what they use. The money is used to maintain the water tank system, to pay for electricity, and to pay the workers who maintain the water tower and water system. >> RICHARD BROGDON: After we had established that first water tower, the people across in the island back behind you had no water and they were taking skiffs and rowing across and loading with water and going back. We've learned that the island has 85 families and there's never been any clean drinking water in that area. >> NGUYEN THI THONG: My name is Nguyen Thi Thong. I was born in 1927. I am 77 years old. I have been collecting water all my life, either from the mainland or taking it from the well on the island. But the island water here is terrible, full of sediment. It needs to be filtered before we can drink it. So even though it is hard, we have to travel across the bay to the mainland to collect our water. It takes about three hours to go to the mainland and back. Usually I'll go with three other people, carrying about 40 buckets of water per trip. >> RICHARD BROGDON: So we built the pipe, we extended a pipe from here across to about 800 meters across that inlet, and then brought water around to the 85 families. I've been to the island two or three times, once while they were developing it, and a couple of times since then, but I'd like to go back to see it and to ensure that they have good, clean water still, and the residents are happy with what they have. >> NGUYEN THI THONG: I remember during the war, the Americans bombed the island and then came here to search, house by house, for any Vietcong or revolutionary who was living on this island. The Americans arrived and walked through the village carrying machine guns. They arrested my husband and they took him away by helicopter to Tam Ky. Since that time, I've never met any American soldier who came back here. >> RICHARD BROGDON: Hello madam! >> NGUYEN THI THONG: So he's a war veteran? >> HOANG NGOC TUNG [Project Coordinator, East Meets West]: She say, you are a US veteran? >> RICHARD BROGDON: Yes, yes. I was with the South Vietnamese army. >> NGUYEN THI THONG: So did he actually fight against Vietnamese or was he an advisor? >> HOANG NGOC TUNG [translating]: What did you do? >> RICHARD BROGDON: I advised the South Vietnamese army. But I would like to see your house and the water tap that you have. >> HOANG NGOC TUNG: She say during the war many boat arrive here and the bombs come down. And the bomb come down and destroy ... >> RICHARD BROGDON: Destroy the boats, yes. >> NGUYEN THI THONG: And here is a bomb crater, right in the middle of our village. >> RICHARD BROGDON: Made a bigger hole. And now it's a pond >> HOANG NGOC TUNG: Now it's a lake. >> RICHARD BROGDON: This is your house. Do you keep water ... ? >> HOANG NGOC TUNG: Yeah, she keep the water in there. >> RICHARD BROGDON: In here and here. Yes. >> HOANG NGOC TUNG: And to keep it clean. >> NGUYEN THI THONG: Now we have clean water, so I keep the dirt out >> HOANG NGOC TUNG: You bring the clean water system here and the family had to make the clean water ... >> RICHARD BROGDON: Keep the clean water, yes. >> HOANG NGOC TUNG: And now she has the clean water [inaudible] and she has more time free to spend more time at home. It's worth bringing the clean water back to the village, and she's very grateful to East Meets West and the local government, to help her village. >> RICHARD BROGDON: Course I was sad to hear about the bombs falling in what is now a lake, that's saddening: the number of people killed, the destruction of the boats that wiped out their ability to earn a living during the war. Yeah, I was sad about that. But overall I was very pleased that East Meets West could do what it did in providing water and getting water to a place that has never had water. >> DINH THI HOA: Since we have clean, running water at home I don't have any more problems with stomach aches, and I have a lot more time for studying and for helping my mother. >> NGUYEN THI THONG: Since I have running water in my house, I'm a lot healthier, and I can spend more time on little jobs that make an income for my family. >> VOICEOVER: Through the work of this one humanitarian organization, over 60,000 Vietnamese families now have safe drinking water piped directly to their homes. It is estimated that every dollar spent on safe water saves at least 10 dollars of healthcare costs, treating water-borne illnesses. Safe drinking water helps keep children in school, and society moving forward. Yet there's much more to do. Worldwide, a billion people still have no access to clean drinking water. The impact of this on global health and education is enormous. As great journeys always begin with a single step, East Meets West has proven that it only takes USD$50 to provide a Vietnamese family of five with a lifetime supply of safe drinking water. >> MAN: A few months ago I was excited because someone told me that there was an American organization which would build a water system and a water tower, and then I would have clean drinking water piped right into my house. I haven't heard anything about it since. >> WOMAN: On behalf of all the people of our hamlet, we sincerely thank you for your support. >> RICHARD BROGDON: Thank you! [clapping] >> DINH THI HOA: Thank you, bye. Bye bye. >> TITLE: Produced by Link TV >> TITLE: [end credit] http://www.viewchange.org/videos/the-last-kankan-of-nakhchivan <p>Water scarcity has become one of the world's greatest challenges. In less than 20 years, nearly two billion people could face shortages. But Azerbaijan, which sits between Europe and Western Asia, has come up with an ingenious solution to its water crisis by looking to its past for inspiration.&nbsp;</p> Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:05:00 +0000 http://www.viewchange.org/videos/the-last-kankan-of-nakhchivan United Nations, Azerbaijan, Water security, Water supply, Water supply network, Irrigation, Drinking water, Groundwater, Western Asia, International Organization for Migration >> DALJIT DHALIWAL: Water affects the survival of every living thing on Earth. The scarcity of this precious resource has become one of our greatest challenges. In less than 20 years, nearly two billion people could face water shortages. But one country -- Azerbaijan, which sits between Europe and Western Asia -- has come up with an ingenious solution to its water crisis. >> VOICEOVER: Water resources in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan are very limited. Precipitation in many regions of the country is very low. The water distribution system is obsolete: pipes are rusted and a significant amount of water is lost due to leakage. But, in the early part of the 20th century, the people in Azerbaijan had plenty of water, much of it delivered by a man-made system of tunnels that took underground water to the surface through gravity flow. This system is locally known as kahriz. >> YUNIS IBRAGIMOV: We all know that there is no life without water. The kahriz provided water without the need of external energy, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for months, for years. >> VOICEOVER: Like his grandfather and his father before him, 71-year-old Yunis Ibragimov is a kankan, an expert in ancient construction skills. Kankans were tasked with building and maintaining the kahrizes. This model of water distribution was used throughout Asia for thousands of years. Gently sloping horizontal tunnels with interconnected wells collect water and bring it to the surface for household and irrigation use without the need for pumping. Kahrizes were the people's life-line, especially in places like Nakhchivan, a province of Azerbaijan. Four hundred thousand live here, one of the driest places in the country. But just below ground there is plenty pure water. Once there were 400 kahrizes here. Fifty-six-year-old Hasanali Nikbin can't hear or speak. But he is a prolific writer and he has written about the essential role of Nakhchivan's kahriz water systems. >> HASANALI NIKBIN [narrated]: Their streams are rays of light, flashing fires and telling stories of abundant harvests, turning deserts into heavens of grass and trees, of thorns and blossoms. >> VOICEOVER: The arrival of electricity during Soviet times spelled the end of the ancient water networks, even though electric pumps were powered by fuel. Tunnels began collapsing and water stopped flowing. People no longer depended on kahrizes for their water. >> ARZU MUSAYEV: No one looked after them. >> VOICEOVER: Water engineer Arzu Musayev. >> ARZU MUSAYEV: The specialists, the kankans, forgot their skills. This was the main reason for the breakdown of the kahriz system. >> VOICEOVER: After Azerbaijan's independence, there was no money for maintenance and the Soviet-built system of pipes and pumps fell apart. Now there was no access to either water system: the kahrizes or the fuel- and electricity-based system. Water shortages became acute. Low-income rural communities, heavily dependent on agriculture for their survival, suffered serious hardships. Regional conflict and lack of access to water led to unemployment and poverty. Hundreds of thousands were driven out. Entire communities in Nakhchivan began migrating to the country's capital, Baku, and further afield. Alverdi Ismailov is the president of a water users group. >> ALVERDI ISMAILOV: If there was enough water, no one would have left the villages and people would have continued working on their land. >> VOICEOVER: Enter IOM, the International Organization for Migration. In 2000, they began implementing a program here to identify and rehabilitate the existing kahrizes. >> YUNIS IBRAGIMOV: I heard that they were looking for kankans. One day someone knocked on my door. He said that they needed my help to fix a kahriz. When we discussed my salary I said that I would do it for any amount of money. >> VOICEOVER: As Yunis began training dozens of young people on the art and science of building kahrizes, IOM staff inspected hundreds of abandoned wells, explored many kilometres of tunnels and examined historical documents and blueprints. >> YUNIS IBRAGIMOV: The first thing you do is to put small stones in the water, more or less the size of my hand. The second layer of stones should be slightly larger. >> YOUNG KANKAN: I started as a worker, now I am a master. From him I learnt to build walls, measure water flows and prevent structure collapse. >> VOICEOVER: It takes years to learn how to become a master kankan. It's hard work and many apprentices find it utterly frightening. >> YUNIS IBRAGIMOV: It's a difficult and dangerous work and it's not easy for young people to learn the skills. I have worked for decades and it's still a challenge for me. >> VOICEOVER: The dangers go well beyond the poisonous snakes that move below ground to escape the intense outside heat. Gas and tunnel collapse have taken the life of kankans in the past. But the profession is seen with great respect and admiration by the people here. The fact is that without these irrigation systems nothing could grow and no one could live here. But for many communities here, the kahriz is more than just a communal water source. It's a way of life. In the ancient mountain village of Yuxari Aylis, a sunnat toyu -- a circumcision party -- is taking place. It's a momentous event in the life of this young man and the village comes together to celebrate it. Two thousand people live here and almost all depend on kahrizes. People like farmer Xanim Qasimova. She's expecting guests today and goes to her kahriz to store fruit juices and fetch water for tea. Xanim keeps her perishable foods here as temperature inside the tunnels are always cool, whatever time of the year it is. The water that comes from a source way up the mountains is pure and refreshing. >> XANIM QASIMOVA: I would not give up my kahriz for anything. For no amount of money. During the hot summer I go to sit there. That place means everything to me. >> VOICEOVER: Since the beginning of IOM's project, 100 kankans have been trained and are now working full time. Almost 70 kahrizes have been rehabilitated. Each renovation cost, on average, USD$12,000, a pittance compared to funds needed for building new water distribution systems. Kahrizes have proven to be sustainable and eco-friendly, providing pure water all year around without the need for external energy sources. Since their rebirth, agricultural production in Nakhchivan has increased, and so has employment. This is a clear example of traditional technology helping to solve one of today's most crucial problems: how to make sure that drinking water will continue to be available to future generations. >> DALJIT DHALIWAL: And that's all for this edition of 21st Century. We will see you next time. Until then, goodbye. >> TITLE: 21st Century a production of United Nations Television Department of Public Information