Women swim 4 km daily to collect drinking water

Makassar: Indonesian Mama Hasria swims upstream with about 200 empty jerry cans tied to her back, a daily trip she and other local women make to get clean water for their community on Sulawesi island.

Hasria makes the 4 km, hour-long trip in the hot sun along the murky Man-dar river to clean water wells built along the riverbank. There, the 46-year-old fills up her cans with clean water made drinkable by the surrounding soil which acts as a natural filter and purifier.

The work of Hasria and her fellow water collectors, who get paid about 500 rupiah (3.5 US cents) for each can, or $7 for the whole load, is vital for some 5,800 families in Tinambung district.

The World Water Day, a UN initiative, focuses this year on “nature-based” solutions for sourcing potable water globally.

It is a challenge in Tinambung where residents have complained for years about limited access to clean water in the remote fishing village.

“We have to collect water from upstream for drinking and cooking,” Hasria said. “Water can only be used for bathing and doing laundry.”

Indonesia has the dubious distinction of hosting the filthy Citarum river, that empties into the sea near Jakarta. A decade ago, the World Bank declared it the most-polluted river in the world.

Faced with a health emergency after decades of failed efforts, the government is stepping in to making the Citarum’s water drinkable by 2025.