Over the years, Al Mustafa has continued to work tirelessly by providing sustainable water solutions to areas where safe water sources are scarce across Pakistan. This year, we assessed an acute need of shallow water wells and community wells in areas of Punjab, in Bhakkar and Mianwali and in District Bhimber of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Thanks to our generous donors, we have so far installed 141 shallow water wells for needy families in Punjab. This will ensure that the beneficiary family and their neighbours will now have access to safe and clean drinking water. We will continue to install more shallow water wells in the coming months.

Four of our community water projects are underway in District Bhimbar (AJK) and will be completed by the end of February 2021. District Bhimber is on the border of Kashmir and Pakistan. Bhimber is a valley with a warm climate and dry winters. It is one of the hard to reach areas due to the location and lacks safe sources of water. These wells are being installed in local schools, where not only the school pupil will benefit from it but the local community surrounding the school will also have access to clean water. With this initiative, we also aim to help decrease the rate of absences in schools due to water-related sickness. These installations are lifetime solutions for safe water and can easily serve the entire community for 15 years and more.

In Pakistan, an estimated 70 percent of the families still drink contaminated water.”

Pakistan continues to face water crisis, coming up number 9 in the list of top 10 countries that have the lowest access to safe water near dwellings. Approximately 20% of the total population have access to clean drinking water in Pakistan. The remaining 80% of the population are pushed to consume unsafe and dirty water. The biggest contributor to contamination is the sewerage, where faecal material is mixed with drinking water supply. Toxic waste is the second biggest contributor, with no proper disposal of chemicals, pesticides, and industrial waste, it all mixes into drinking water streams.

Scarcity of safe drinking water has had a negative impact on the health and economy of Pakistan. Not to mention, poor sanitation and water-related diseases adversely affect children, leading to stunted growth and frequent absences from school due to diseases like diarrhoea. It is estimated that almost 44% of children suffer stunted growth due to inferior quality of water.

You can help today and from just £150 you can provide a family with the gift of safe water or you can choose to install a community water solution helping a whole community access clean drinking water.

To read more about our water projects and make a donation, please visit here