‘This water is life itself.’

In July 2022, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the mountainous province of Abra in the Philippines. The quake caused flash flooding which then destroyed buildings, homes and infrastructure in several areas. In the Barangay Ballayangon communities of Pugo, Topap and Agimitan, essential water systems were washed away. The Cordillera Disaster Response & Development Services (CorDis), a long-standing partner of PWRDF, responded with relief to the affected communities through funding from the Canadian Funds for Local Initiative of the Canadian Embassy in Manila and other sources. PWRDF responded to a request from CorDis to fund the rehabilitation of village water systems. 

In the spring of 2023, with PWRDF’s support of $22,700, CorDis, in collaboration with Timpuyug ti Mannalon iti Kalinga (TMK), the Bangowan Farmers’ Association (BAFA) and local community members, built four water systems to provide clean, running water to Pugo, Topap and Agimitan. 

BAFA worked with local government representatives to form user groups to implement the project and ensure sustainable management of water systems. Local community members came together to build the system infrastructure due to the urgent need, completing the systems in only a few months despite the busy agricultural season for farming communities. These water systems have provided clean water to 81 families across 63 households, as well as an elementary school and a day care centre. An additional 69 families across 51 households benefitted from the project indirectly for a total of 150 families across 114 households – including 303 women and 259 men. 

Rosemarie Lingbawan is the chairperson of the BAFA organization of West Ballayangon. “We only have a small source of water but it’s not enough,” she said. “We, the women in the community, were scrambling over the little supply of water. It was laborious for the women to do their laundry and to fetch water. We carried our heavy containers looking for potable water. Now that we have our water system our work has become lighter, so we are very thankful. Now our problem of potable water is solved which is essential for daily life. We searched for the best sources in the mountains. The water is now readily available in our backyards. We are very thankful to CorDis who helped us, because now we have our water system. This water is part of our life, this water is life itself.” 

“CorDis is a long-standing partner of PWRDF,” said PWRDF Humanitarian Response Coordinator, Naba Gurung. “I had the honour of meeting their Executive Director, Jimmy Khayog, and his colleagues in their office in Baguio back in 2015 and have full confidence in the quality of work that they do with the community-based organizations in the region.”

This story was originally published in the November 2023 issue of Under the Sun.