UNICEF: After floods in Laos, safe water a priority

VIENTIANE, Lao People's Democratic Republic, 8 September 2008 -- In the nine years that he's been director of the Sendin Village primary school, Sengtun Vongsay has had more than one opportunity to reflect on the destructive force of the nearby Nam Ngum River.

Now he stands beside the outside wall of the school's main classroom block and points to a grubby tidemark that runs across the pink plasterwork about 30 centimetres above his head. "The water came up to here this time," says Mr. Vongsay. "It stayed there for more than a fortnight before it began to recede."

"We were marooned for days on the second floor," says the mother of two. "We managed to buy just enough water to drink for the first two days. Then we managed to find a boat to take us to the dispensary where we got more." Ms. Boualaphanh, together with her daughter and two-year-old granddaughter, joined other villagers at the temple close to the river bank.

Water containers, soap, chlorine tablets and other life-saving hygiene supplies provided by UNICEF were being handed out to families worst-affected by the floods.

As in most flooding emergencies, it's the shortage of safe water that's the most pressing problem. Staff from the Ministry of Health and the National Centre for Environmental Health and Water Supply (Nam Saat) were on hand to give instructions on how the supplies should be used.

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• UNICEF
• Laos
• Vientiane
• Lao
• People's
• Democratic
• Republic
• floods
• water
• children
• hygiene
• USA