DEOGARH DISTRICT, JHARKHAND – Meet Nilmuni Kisku, a 53-year-old woman from Dundu village of the Deogarh district in Jharkhand. She belongs to the Santhal tribe, the third largest tribe in India. The occupation of the Santhals revolves around the forests in which they reside. Their basic needs are fulfilled from trees and plants of the forests. They are also engaged in hunting, fishing and cultivation for their livelihood. Nilmuni lives with her husband and two sons. Currently, both her sons are graduating from a college in the neighbouring district and live in a hostel. They are still dependant on their parents financially. Her husband suffered from Tuberculosis and after prolonged medication, he has recovered from it. However, the disease has left him weak and unstable. Due to her husband being physically weak to earn, the sole responsibility of taking care of the family fell on Nilmuni.
Today, the region is grappling with water scarcity due to low rainfall during the monsoons. Villagers walk several kilometres to get drinking water, and access to water is a thing of luxury. They are usually dependant on the shallow pits that are dug for rainwater to collect. These pits are around 10 feet deep and contain some polluted water during the monsoons. They rely on these open pits for bathing and washing clothes. The other option is a river which is few kilometres away from the village. The task of fetching water is generally delegated to women and girls. They are usually faced with a risky route and cross dangerous rocky forest routes to get water. Nilmuni’s bigger responsibility has been to ensure that the family has enough water at home. She used to travel multiple times in peak summer to fetch water, in the rainy season searching for potable water for drinking was nearly impossible as the river gets flooded up to its course and sand and silt make it dirty and not fit for drinking.
No Longer on a Dangerous Path
When Operation Blessing learnt about the dire need of clean drinking water in Nilmuni’s community, they set up a clean water well near her house much to her relief. The people in her community were relieved too as they no longer have to spend hours every day trying to source clean water. She expresses her joy to the Operation Blessing staff and says, “Operation Blessing has emerged as an angel who has eased the problems in her community that has been decade old struggle. We are very thankful to them”.
