More than 40% of households in Que Phong lack clean water for daily use.

(Baonghean.vn) – According to a report from Que Phong district, there are currently 6,341 households lacking clean water for daily use. Of these, the communes with severe clean water shortages are Nam Nhoong with 63% of households lacking water, Quang Phong with 58%, Muong Noc with 53%, and Chau Kim with 49%. In Kim Son town alone, 220/934 households lack clean water.

In Nam Nhoong - one of the most difficult localities in the district, the people here are mainly Thai and Kho Mu, life is extremely difficult. The main source of domestic water is taken from rivers and streams using rudimentary tools and without any disinfection or cleaning equipment.

Mr. Moong Van Thanh, Nhot Nhoong village shared: Up until now, my family has only known how to get water from rivers and streams for cooking and daily activities. Although we know it is not good for our health, due to circumstances, we have to use this water source.

Mr. Moong Van Thanh's family in Nhot Nhoong village, Nam Nhoong commune gets water from rivers and streams with rudimentary tools.

As for Mr. Vi Van Duyen's family in Na Hoc 2 village, if they want to use clean water, they have to drive many kilometers to the commune center to buy a water bottle, but this water is only enough for drinking and cooking every day and the cost is quite high. He said: Natural clean water can only be obtained from the upstream of the streams, but people mainly live and get water from the downstream so it is not guaranteed. Families with better conditions drive long distances to buy water, but this number is very small.

Mr. Vi Van Duyen, Na Hoc 2 village, Nam Nhoong commune uses stream water for daily activities.

Nhot Nhoong village - the most difficult village in Nam Nhoong commune, has 43 households, all of whom are ethnic minorities and have never known clean water. The school for children here has 18 children, but for their daily activities, they have to use unsanitary river water from surrounding households. Teacher Lang Thi Vinh shared: "Every day, two teachers take turns to get water from the villagers for the children to eat, drink, and bathe. Some children have itchy skin, suspected to be due to using unsanitary water, but because of difficult conditions and dangerous roads, teachers and students still have to use this water source for daily activities."

Mr. Ngan Van Chin - Chairman of Nam Nhoong Commune People's Committee said: Clean water is a difficult problem in the locality. The whole commune currently has 323/509 households lacking clean water, accounting for more than 60%. Especially villages such as Nhot Nhoong and Lin Khuong have never used clean water. The remaining villages have water treatment systems but they are damaged and degraded and can no longer be used. Due to limited funding, clean water projects serving ethnic minorities have not been able to be built.

Every day, teacher Ha Thi Mai has to go to each household to ask for water for the children of Nhot Nhoong kindergarten.

Children line up to wash their hands in unsanitary water.

In Muong Noc commune, Mr. Quang Van Phuong - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee said: The whole commune currently has 785/1,464 households lacking clean water, accounting for 53% of the total number of households in the commune. The villages without clean water are concentrated in particularly difficult villages such as Ban Luong, Muong Mun, Ban Han, Na Phi... To cope with the lack of domestic water, some households have dug wells but the water supply is not enough. Some other households have cast their own water jars or bought plastic water bottles for daily use but the effect is not long-lasting.

People put taps in the stream to get water for daily use.

According to a report from Que Phong district, there are currently 6,341 out of 15,504 ethnic minority households in the area lacking clean water for daily use. The district has issued many policies to build and support the people, but due to large investment costs, combined with rugged terrain and difficulties in installation and construction, the problem of lack of clean water has not been completely resolved.

Quang An