FOR years, the people of Barangay Alagatan in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental, have had a difficult time getting clean drinking water. Their situation worsened in 2022, when an armed conflict prevented them from going to the nearest spring, their only source of safe water. However, a newly completed water supply system, one that the residents have built themselves, is set to improve their standard of living.
The new water supply system, built by the villagers through a cash-for-work program, was a project implemented by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in coordination with the local government. It was unveiled on 7 March 2024 during a handover ceremony attended by community members, local authorities, and representatives of the ICRC and its partner, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC).
ICRC engineers designed the system, supplied the materials and equipment, and provided technical support to the construction works. Approximately 700 people will benefit from the project, and the system provides water to the barangay office, elementary school, and health center.
The completion of the water system comes just around World Water Day on 24 March 2024. Commemorated annually, World Water Day aims to raise awareness about the billions of people around the world who do not have access to clean and safe water.
“People in remote areas are at a higher risk of getting life-threatening diseases if they do not have access to clean water. Having a reliable water system improves a community’s hygiene standards, and it also helps them sustain their livelihoods. This project, completed just a few weeks before World Water Day, is a step toward the improvement of living conditions in Alagatan,” said Ishfaq Muhammad Khan, head of the ICRC’s Butuan office.
Almost 85 residents started constructing the water system in September 2023. They installed a five-kilometer pipeline, five storage tanks, and 19 water faucets.
On 5 March 2024, a hygiene promotion activity was done by the PRC for the residents.
The ICRC is a neutral, impartial, and independent organization with an exclusively humanitarian mandate that stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and other violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and dignity and to relieve their suffering, often alongside its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners. (ICRC)
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