The remote villages of Marcelo and Buhisan are located in different areas of the Philippines. Marcelo is in Negros Occidental province, central Philippines, while Buhisan lies in the province of Surigao del Sur, in the south of the country. But the villages have two problems in common -– the absence of a reliable water supply system and protracted armed violence.
For years, people had to queue up or make long journeys, just to collect unhealthy water from sources like streams, rivers and open wells or a leaky pipeline. Diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases were common.
The ICRC responded by building water supply systems in the two villages. The communities joined in, carrying materials, digging trenches, and installing pipes. Newly-formed water associations will maintain the systems and ensure that clean water keeps flowing for many years to come.
In September 2014, the ICRC handed the completed projects over to the communities of Marcelo and Buhisan, where almost 3,000 people now have clean drinking water.
Clean water for Buhisan
