IXL Social Enterprise Case Studies Water March 2011 | Page 4

Getting Safe Water and Sanitation to the Bottom of the Pyramid through Bold and Game-Changing Innovations

As fear mounts that they might not be able to get
their much-needed water before the standpost
turns back “off,” fights sometimes erupt and
women and girls get hurt. In other cases, women
and girls leave their empty jugs in front of the
community standpost and sometimes even sleep
by them the evening before the water is to be
released, to secure a place in line.17
“Do I have enough water?”
Mrs. Manonmani cannot walk to a water post every
day – a “solution” to try to stop fights in the lines
led to a rule only allowing the communities sharing
the standpost to access water on alternate days. As
a result, she can only use the water post a mere once
every four days. Providing for the water needs of
a family of four with such infrequent trips to the
standpost is simply not possible. In a desperate state,
she has to wait to see if neighbors might be willing
to sell her any extra water they may have (one rupee
buys her family four pots of water). Untold time spent
walking from neighbor to neighbor in search of water
(and waiting in lines on days she can actually use a
standpost) leaves Mrs. Manonmani unable to care