Until recently, residents of Safedoron village of Panj district in Khatlon region were among the 800 million people around the world and more than 4 million people in Tajikistan who lacked access to clean drinking water. Most families had no choice but to drink unsafe water from the irrigation canal that originates from Panj River. They used the untreated river water also for bathing, washing clothes, and cleaning. Only three or four boreholes in the village of more than 2,700 people provided any access to drinking water.
Sadbarg Yorova, 14, would accompany her mother sometimes three times per day to the nearest borehole around 0.5 km from her house. Each trip took at least an hour. Water scarcity caused poor sanitation and hygiene and also took up Sadbarg’s valuable time away from doing her homework. She hopes to become a doctor.
That all changed in 2021 when the Thrive Tajikistan: Partnership for Socio-Economic Development program completed the construction of a new drinking water supply system and school sanitation facility in Safedoron. Thrive is a five-year joint program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Aga Khan Foundation (AKF). The construction was led by the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH).
The drinking water supply system now provides clean water to Sadbarg’s family as well as more than 2,700 of her relatives and neighbors. The new school latrine provides modern sanitation services to more than 640 of her peers and teachers.
With the availability of safe water, Safedoron’s residents are now connecting the water pumps to their kitchens and building flush toilets and bathrooms. Yorov Rustam, Sadbarg’s father, is completing a bathroom in front of their house.
“Working on my land all day, I have always wished to take a cool shower with clean water. I am now only one step away from this dream,” says Rustam.
Sadbarg knows that Safedoron’s residents, including her parents, pay a modest water tariff.
“I fully support paying for water to keep the system sustainable, as I don’t want the next generation to spend three hours a day hauling water as I did. It has not been so long that I have forgotten. In my 14 years of life, only one year have I been able to spend more time helping my mother, playing with friends, and reading books,” says Sadbarg as she washes fresh grapes and vegetables in water from the tap in front of her house.
Sadorat Khojaeva, a Deputy Principal of School #20 in Safedoron and a medical volunteer, now has time to offer classes in health education.
“Access to clean drinking water brought a rapid decrease in waterborne diseases, though I think it is not enough to unroot it. We organize health sessions in our school and facilitate drawing and poetry competitions on the appropriate use of water and preventing diseases.”
Sadbarg actively participates in the health sessions. With her desire to become a doctor, she has chosen to take extra math and chemistry classes that her school offers to enthusiastic students like Sadbarg.
“If water scarcity had a negative impact on my life before, now water allows me to dream about my future,” says Sadbarg.
