KULISUSU PEOPLE ARE IN NEED

OF WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION FACILITY

The Kulisusu in North Kulisusu is very familiar with diarrhea, skin infection and inhalation infection. During rainy season every year the cases of these diseases are two-fold higher. Take three villages of North Kulisusu (Lelamo, Waode Buri and Ulunambo) as example. Data obtained from local clinic shows that 2 of 3 villagers got diarrhea, skin infection and skin inhalation during rainy season in 2003. If the total population of the three villages is 6,137, meaning about 4,000 inhabitants contracted those diseases.

The situation above is allegedly related to unhealthy water consumption and bad sanitation. Local people mostly consume dirty water gotten from dirty well and rainwater. Clean water (spring) is available indeed, but it is about 10 km from village. The only way for getting clean water is transporting with canoe or motorcycle. As a matter of fact, local people under facilitation of IDRAP have already tried solve this problem by collecting money together for constructing water pipe line to distribute clean water from spring to villages. It was done in 1999. Collecting money from the poor is not easy. Money collected is very limited; hence only pipes at lowest quality could be procured. After four years of operation, almost all water pipes went broken. Now the situation is going worse.

In the aspect of sanitation, it seems similar. Only 49 houses of about 5% of the total houses equipped with permanent toilet (WC). The remaining are still use natural toilets such as scrubby lands and coastal line surrounding the village. Elucidation of importance of using permanent toilet (water closet) is surely hard when water is scarce.

Now, the situation shall be changed. When the government has no budget, community participation is an alternative. However, expecting self-finance project for constructing water system and sanitation facility is a mission impossible for the poor community. Outside assistance is absolutely needed to empower local people in constructing a self-help project.