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Update from Bangladesh | Be inspired

dsk april 2020 covid19
The urban slum communities we support in Bangladesh consist of hard-working rickshaw drivers, domestic workers, and other low-wage earners. They survive one day at a time, without personal savings or a safety net. When their work is disrupted by a pandemic, their families are instantly impacted and at great risk. Our partner organization, DSK, is second-to-none when it comes to the technical aspects of our systems, and is also deeply committed to the health, economic security, and dignity of the people they serve. The character of DSK shines bright during this difficult time. They made the collective decision to personally donate one day’s pay to the Covid Relief Fund that provides basic emergency resources to the communities we serve. Our DSK colleagues are not wealthy people. They are compassionate people who are deeply committed to their work. In the spirit of DSK, we ask those of you who are not financially impacted by this unprecedented crisis to consider donating one day’s pay to our Covid Relief Fund. This fund will support urban slum communities as they take emergency measures to keep people safe during this time, and expedite construction of water and sanitation infrastructure moving forward. The staff at Water1st will also rise to the one-day-pay challenge as we support our team in Bangladesh.

Update from Bangladesh

Bangladesh is beginning to show signs of epidemic-style spread of COVID-19; in a recent three-day time period the total number of cases doubled. If this pattern persists, they will be plunged into a major health crisis for which they are completely unprepared. Bangladesh has already been under stay-at-home orders for 4 weeks, so they don’t have many more levers to pull to reduce transmission.

DSK is working tirelessly to mobilize urban slum communities to protect themselves from the spread of COVID-19. They are going door-to-door to educate residents on transmission pathways of disease and hygiene practices people can use to protect themselves, including frequent handwashing, wearing masks, and sanitizing home environments.

density-redblue
To give you an idea of the density of Bangladesh and the complexity of social distancing, a comparison of the population of Manhattan (L) to Dhaka (R).

Water1st has been funding our local partner, DSK, for 15 years. As a result, 120,000 people living in urban slums have access to clean water and toilets, which will play a critical role in their efforts to fight the spread of disease.

This pandemic has proven that we are indeed a global community, and that access to clean water will greatly impact the health and security of our world moving forward. There has never been a better time to justify your investment in high-quality infrastructure for clean water and toilets. The return on this investment will impact us all for generations to come.