Safe and clean drinking water is becoming increasingly difficult to access in Bangladesh. Frequent and intense cyclones, storm surges, and sea-level rise, particularly in the coastal belt, result in water logging, and drive salinity further inland. The poorest and most vulnerable residents in the country are the most impacted as they have to choose between drinking contaminated water and getting sick, or walking several kilometers to get clean water while learning to make do with less.
After taking on the laborious responsibility of walking a long distance every day for years to fetch water for her family of 14, Gita Roy and a group of other affected women lobbied their community heavily for a reverse osmosis plant to address water shortages. Gita led the formation of the Golap Mohila Dal, a group of five women who, with the help of WaterAid and Rupantar, registered as a business, received trainings and ultimately operated the reverse osmosis plant. Today, the women are formally responsible for running the Moricchap Drinking Water Plant, which opened in February 2020. To learn more about the Golap Mohila Dal and other locally-led Stories of Resilience.