The Wongkolats are a family of five (mum, dad and 3 children) who live in Hoi Village, located in north-central Laos. Hoi Village sits in Khoun District in the Xieng Khouang Province.
The Wongkolats are one of the first 15 families in their village to receive free water filters from Abundant Water as part of the Caritas Luxembourg project. This partnership will see 1500 families in 100 villages across the Xieng Khouang Province receive water filters which will allow them safe access to clean drinking water.
Mrs Wongkolat is a teacher and her husband is a farmer. She told Abundant Water that she is very glad and happy to receive help for her family. She is so appreciative of what the project will mean for her family and can now be sure her children are drinking clean water.
Safe, clean drinking water is an essential human right. It is directly linked to socio-economic and educational development. A 2010 report by the United Nations Children’s Fund warned that a lack of clean drinking water affects children’s education and that many schools and homes in remote villages lack basic amenities that most of us take for granted.
As a teacher, Mrs Wongkolat knows the importance of education for her children and others in her community. The filters delivered as part of the Abundant Water and Caritas Luxembourg project will mean families don’t have to collect and boil many litres of water and can focus on other important parts of their lives such as work and school.
According to UNICEF, the reality is that we must do more:
The world is not on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 6: access to safe water and sanitation for all. At the High Level Political Forum, UNICEF is calling on governments to reaffirm their commitments to improve water, sanitation and hygiene access; strengthen partnerships with national statistics offices to improve collection, analysis and disaggregation of data, and reporting progress on national action.
The Wongkolats are only one family. The smiles on their faces show that our work has and will continue to make a difference to their lives. In this partnership with Caritas Luxembourg, Abundant Water is continuing to make a difference in the lives of families and communities, one step at a time. We are contributing to the successful achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6 and look forward to the day when our work is no longer needed. Until then, we will continue to visit different communities and regions and are optimistic about the future.