[photo above: a new water system installed in Chittagong]
Bangladesh has had a difficult year. A fire in a garment factory in November killed more than one hundred workers, heightening concern about working conditions. Then in April an entire factory collapsed, killing more than 2,000 workers. Meanwhile, trials are being held on the highly sensitive subject of atrocities committed during the war for independence from Pakistan in the 1970s. Some of the accused are now leaders of opposition parties. With elections on the near horizon (Nov 2013), tensions are running very high, leading to frequent protests and general strikes.
In this environment, we were not expecting DSK, our partner in Bangladesh, to get much work done. On the contrary, our friends in Dhaka and Chittagong have been incredibly tive.
In their second quarter report, they informed us that they completed 101 water projects serving 7,862 people. Not only was it a busy quarter, it was the most tive ever. The photo above is water supply and toilets constructed at a primary school in Demra slum in the capital city of Dhaka.
Our thanks to the dedicated people who work for DSK. Even in very tense and potentially dangerous situations, they are working hard to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged in their society. We’re proud to support them. Adding this most recent project count to our running total, the Water 1st community has now funded 940 projects serving over 100,000 people.