In some villages in Mar Craw Shae village tract of Hpruso Township, Karenni (Kayah) State, there is a shortage of drinking water and lack of proper health care, so both children and adults are facing skin-related health problems, a healthcare volunteer said.
“I have heard that there are people donating water, but there have never been any donations in this village. Locals have to be quite frugal when they collect drinking water because only a small amount of seepage water can be taken. Reddish water is used for general purposes. And two or three villages have to share and use water sources. It will become drier in the coming months. Even now, the water that can be drawn is already mud-like. Due to the scarcity of clean water, many additional problems are faced. In women, urinary tract diseases are common. If water is scarcer than this, diarrhea will follow. The main source of the problem is shortage of water”, she explained.
In addition to skin diseases, diarrhea often occurs in some children under the age of 5. Some villages have to pay 60000-kyat to buy a truckload of drinking water. However, some villages are too poor to use the method.
In villages such as Htee The Koo, Law Pa Lyar Le, Dor Kou Li, which are included in the Mar Craw Shae village tract, the residents are facing adverse health effects because they have to heavily rely on reddish water.
“There is no specific donor who regularly donates water. But I have seen a water donation with two cars for the village school. The lake outside the village is convenient for bathing and washing. For drinking water, we have to go to another lake that is far away. We estimate the situation will be dire next month”, a Hpruso resident said.
The lake filled with reddish water is shared by the entire Htee The Koo village with 100 households (with a population more than 500) as well as Dor Kou Li and Law Pa Lyar Le villages, and the lake itself has been showing signs of drying up since this month.
