Station 6: At station 6, representatives from WatSan added two different products to the water to make it instantly drinkable. The first product was Aqua Tabs. Aqua Tabs are about a half-inch long, and come in packets of 10. Each pack costs Rp.3000, and the people of the kampung are getting a good deal because one, just one tiny Aqua Tab can purify 20 liters of clear (but germ-infested) water. If the water is more turbid, then two Aqua Tabs will need to be added. The second one was Air Rahmat. Air Rahmat is a liquid water purifier, and has the same power as Aqua Tabs. One capful of Air Rahmat (5mL) will purify 20 liters of water. Like Aqua Tabs, if the water is more turbid, then two or three capfuls need to be added.
Station 2: Station two wasn't a water purification station. It was a Public Health Promotion center. There, the children of the kampung learn how to keep water safe, proper hygiene habits, and the importance of washing hands. They even sang an Indonesian hand washing song for us before we left!
Station 4: At station four, WatSan representatives added a substance called PUR into the water. In the demonstration, the PUR acted like alum and formed floc at the bottom of the pot. The water was then poured through a ceramic filter and voila, clean water!
I was kind of sad to leave the kampung. The people there had been so friendly with us in the short time that we had stayed there. The contrast between their way of life and our way of life was HUGE. I hope, some day, they will never have to worry about purifying their water again.
1 comment:
Nice work on this write up, Madhav. You've understood the stations well, and their role in the whole water purification process.
Early on you mentioned the river water was going to be purified. Not so. They are working with the ground water.
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