For Josephine and her husband, Nizar, a technical engineer working in Halba, living disconnected from Nahr El Bared’s water supply was not a new problem.
For the past eight years, their Palestinian-Lebanese neighborhood was considered outside of formal boundaries of the camp that had been mostly destroyed in the 2007 fighting there. So, the family was excluded from many of the camp’s basic services, including access to potable water. Thanks to Anera and its local partner PARD (Popular Aid for Relief and Development), the family is now connected to potable water in their home.
AneraNahrElBaredwaterNizarJosephine and Nizar had relied on a neighbor to provide them with water from his private well, though the couple was always skeptical of the water’s quality – the bombing had destroyed sewage pipes and water connections and contaminated many wells. The couple used to drink from the well but they bought bottled water for their children at an extra expense that weighed on the family. In addition, with eight other families sharing well, Josephine and Nizar constantly feared their neighbor would not be able to continue providing for them.
“When we were connected to the new network the water pressure was very strong! Now we can use it to clean our home and to drink,” said Nizar.
With funding from ACCESS and hundreds of private donors, Anera worked with PARD to provide potable water and water tanks to nearly 170 families residing in U.N. temporary housing or in modestly rehabilitated houses in the area adjacent to Nahr El Bared, known as the “new camp”.
Many issues remain to be resolved but Nizar and Josephine are thrilled to have their home connected to the camp’s clean drinking water. For the first time, they and their children can finally enjoy what most people assume is essential to a happy and healthy home: water.
