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Drops of Fresh and Clean Water
The Drops of Fresh and Clean Water program builds rain water collector tanks in remote Vietnamese communities that lack fresh water and have to use soiled water from lakes, rice fields and stagnant water ponds. It is particularly focused on helping schools and health clinics in the remote countryside, so that those most in need can benefit from this cost-effective and much needed source of drinking water.
The program targets primary and secondary schools with 100 to 1000 students and health clinics that serve over 100 patients a month in villages and districts far from the cities. At many of these sites we have previously drilled water wells, but the water turned out to contain alum and therefore was not drinkable and is used for hygienic purposes only.
To have clean and good water, many workers have skillfully made eaves troughs surrounding the tile roofs to collect rainwater. Rainwater flows from the eaves troughs to a filter tank before going to the collector tank. The open face of the tank is big enough for workers to climb into the tank and clean it every year. On the open market, each tank will cost from Vnd 1,500,000 to Vnd 2,000,000. But our cost for constructing these tanks (please refer to the Estimated Cost of Construction below) will only be Vnd 1,000,000 for a 4 m3 tank and Vnd 1,500,000 for a 6 m3 tank. We have indeed found a way to build good water collector tanks at the best price. For this we owe a debt of gratitude to the skillful workers who have built the water tanks and Hoa Hoan, the construction material supplier that effectively made a partial donation of construction materials by selling to us at a large discount.
Each completed water tank will bear an inscription on a black stone plaque indicating the name of the tank donor, the name of the institution receiving the water tank, and the date of the donation. Should a benefactor donate more than one water tank, the tanks would be numbered in ascending order (Tank #1, Tank #2, Tank #3, etc.) and the series would be continued on any subsequent donations (for example, Tank #4, Tank #5).
Drops of clean and fresh water flow as a source of freshness and comfort into the hearts of students and the poor who were born and raised on the green rice fields of Vietnam. Water relieves the thirst of children after play under a scorching sun, and water goes deep into the hearts of patients who have always lived in want. Without the active and continuous support of benefactors, a support much appreciated by students and patients in Vietnam, it would be very difficult for clean and fresh water to come to those who are thirsting.
Water flows from springs high in the mountains
Water comes from deep inside the earth
Water flows as if by magic
We are grateful for water always flowing
When drinking a cup of fragrant tea,
We remember the source and origin of the tea.
When drinking a glass of clear water,
We ask: Where does the water come from?
Estimated Cost of Construction of Rainwater Collector Tanks
Gravel - 1 m3 150,000
- Sand - 1 m3 40,000
- Cement 500 Kg 375,000
- Mould rental & Skilled worker labour 200,000
- Gravel washing 30,000
- Reinforcing steel 40,000
- Meals for workers 120,000
- Iron and plastic tubing & hose 20,000
- Stone plaque 25,000
- Total Vnd 1,000,000
- * For a larger tank ( 6m3), the cost would be 50% more, i.e. Vnd 1,500,000.
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