Drinking water, which flows directly from taps in Slovakia and is even used for flushing toilets, is far from a given in most countries around the world. In Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, approximately one-third of the population had access to drinking water at the beginning of the millennium. The Moldovan government's goal of increasing the share of the population with access to drinking water to more than half by 2010 and to 65% by 2015 is also being helped by Slovaks. Thanks to an ADRA Slovakia project financed through Slovak Aid, the residents of the village of Dezghinja have had access to drinking water since August 2010. The village of Dezghinja, in the autonomous region of Gagauzia, approximately one hundred kilometres south of the capital Chișinău, lies in one of the driest areas of the country. Over five thousand people live there, and until recently, out of a total of 1,880 houses and apartments, only about 700 were connected to the water supply. Today, nearly the entire village is preparing to connect to the pipeline.
The project lasted eight months. During that time, a new eleven-kilometre water pipeline was built, and artesian wells that had been unused for twenty years were cleaned and reconstructed. New fittings and pumps were installed on the wells, and reservoirs with a total capacity of 200,000 litres were built beside them. Water from these reservoirs will supply the village under pressure through a new water distribution network, to which local households will connect.
The reconstructed wells and the new water pipeline were ceremonially inaugurated at the beginning of August 2010. Local residents, who welcomed guests in traditional costumes and with bread and salt, had waited a long moment for this occasion. The president of the autonomous region and other local government officials also attended the ceremony in Dezghinja, and the national television broadcast a report on the handover of the project.
The project was financed through official development assistance funds from SlovakAid in the amount of nearly 140,000 €, and was also supported by the government of the autonomous region of Gagauzia. It was implemented in cooperation with ADRA Moldova. A local construction firm carried out the building work. After the completion of the construction and technical parts of the project, the local government still needs to obtain the necessary certificates and permits for the use of the entire system to supply the population with drinking water. In the end, nearly five thousand residents of this village will be able to connect to the pipeline with high-quality drinking water.
Author: Daniel Dräxler http://www.adra.sk
The article was published in the bulletin Development Aid - Autumn 2010. It is published by the Platform of Non-Governmental Development Organisations (MVRO), an association of legal entities and the umbrella organisation of 31 (23 full members and 8 observers) Slovak non-governmental organisations, primarily engaged in international development and humanitarian aid.