MaximsNewsNetwork: MADAGASCAR WATER: WORLD BANK

MaximsNewsNetwork: 29 August 2009 - World Bank: Madagascar, off the coast of Africa, is one of the largest islands in the world. It is rich in wildlife, but water is scarce. The government and private enterprise, with help from the World Bank, are working together to get clean fresh water to the people of Madagascar.

Julie Ana Heriniaina has a business selling plants.
Her business is growing because she now has easy access to clean fresh water.
In fact, her plant sales are doing so well shes already paid for her new water tap. Shes diversifying; shes bought pigs and fish and is planning to buy a cow.

SOUNDBITE (Malagasy) Julie Ana Heriniaina, Gardener:
I need three barrels every day for my flowers and about ten buckets for the pigs. One pig needs a bucket per day.

Every night at dusk, Lila walks to her neighbors house to buy water.

A number of local families do the same thing, getting water for cooking, for bathing, and for their animals to drink. Her neighbor has signed up to manage what is called a social connection, a shared source of clean water piped by a local entrepreneur.

SOUNDBITE (Malagasy) Lila, villager:
Because we have this tap, life is really easier in our area. Before we had to walk two hours.

Madagascar is a big island, but water is scarce and only a third of the people living in the countryside have access to drinkable water

Entrepreneur Gerald Razafinjato is now supplying water to some 6,000 people in Ambohijanka.

His company built a dam and a purification plant, where he checks the water quality often.

Geralds company is getting help from the World Bank, which is paying for the pipes. Hes supplying both individual owners, such as Julie, and the social connections with clean water 24 hours of the day.

SOUNDBITE (Malagasy) Gerald Razafinjato, entrepreneur:
We created this barrage on a hectare of land to store water four meters deep, thats 20,000 cubic feet and we feed it to town by gravity.

Ndreme Razafindralambo manages the social connection that Lila uses.
He decided to have a tap in his house and now provides water to 20 or so households.
By selling water to his neighbors, he can afford water for himself and his family.

SOUNDBITE (Malagasy) Ndrema Razafindralambo, villager:
The water you get here is cheaper than the supply one kilometer away so it allows us all to make savings.

Lila and her brother use their new water supply to take care of their own plants.
Lila plans to follow in Julie Anas footsteps, and build a business based on water.

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