The activities in general are:

  1. Awareness
  2. Safe Water Supply
  3. Water Quality Test
  4. Arsenicosis Patient Management and Rehabilitation
  5. Training
  6. Consultancy for Safe Water Device Design and Construction & Capacity Building of Beneficiaries and Their Supporters
  7. Coordination with GOs and NGOs
  8. Charitable Activities

Awareness

  • Information Communication Campaign
  • Courtyard Meeting
    • Flip chart
    • Video Show
  • Interactive Meeting
  • Conducting PRA
    • Social Mapping
    • Applying Awareness Tools
    • Need Assessment
  • Training of User Committee Maintenance Training
    • Management Training
    • Device/Community Management
    • Conflict Management
  • Large-scale Awareness Campaign/Arsenic Rally
    • Arsenic Fair
    • Street Drama (Gomvira)
  • Institutionalization of User Committee

Safe Water Supply

Water Quality Checking
Before safe water device installation, we conduct a ‘Hydrogeological Feasibility Survey. This survey considers the hydrogeological setting of a particular place. It is necessary to oversee a Hydrogeological Feasibility Survey for checking water availability, quality, and sustainability of the safe water devices. That saves both time and money.
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Water Quality Test

In addition to our internal extensive water quality testing program, we are open for providing testing facilities of about 28 parameters (link with Lab Section) of water at an affordable rate.

For our internal activities, we do the following activities:

  1. screening of drinking water sources
  2. surrounding water quality testing of a safe water device construction site
  3. water quality checking after construction of the safe water device
  4. monitoring of water quality of the safe water devices installed by us

For our respected outside clients, we offer the following services:

  1. Water quality testing
  2. Sampling

Arsenicosis Patient Management and Rehabilitation

In general, for arsenicosis patient management, we follow the surveillance system of the government. To be definitive, we recruit efficient field workers for our area of activities and train them to search out suspected patients through the house-to-house survey. When found any, the presumed patient is then listed by the field workers. After that, our experienced physician identifies them through the medical camp, individual visit, or by any other means. When a patient has confirmed as an arsenicosis patient, he/she is then taken to Upazila Health Complex for registration.

He/she is given a health card from the Upazila Health Complex, treatment advice and sometimes treatment facilities based on the severity of the disease. In the case of treatment facilities, the AAN helps patients with treatment cost using a fund created by Japanese donation. The patient needs to pay a percentage of treatment cost with the aim of making them realize the seriousness of the disease.

For rehabilitation of the patients, we involve them in income generating activities and many other safety-nets. We assist them to produce organic vegetables, kitchen gardening, cattle rearing, fish culture, etc and link them with the market. So far, we trained 50 farmers about how to produce compost fertilizer. From doing all these, we have seen tremendous response from the farmers. To increase their nutritional intake and to make their habit to copy healthy preparation of foods, we organize group cuisine. It has greatly changed their life style and many patients are improving gradually.


Training

The gravity of groundwater arsenic contamination in Bangladesh is the greatest problem all over the world when we consider the number of population exposed to it. To tackle this problem, we need comprehensive integrated approach creating sufficient manpower in arsenic mitigation sectors. It is a fact that knowledgeable and experienced individuals, groups, organizations or institutions on arsenic mitigation are inadequate in this country. In this respect, we do feel that our expertise and background on arsenic mitigation for about 35 years in Japan and 14 years in Bangladesh are enough and effective to create manpower through training. 

Pond Area Measurement Training
Safe Water Point Visit for Practical Training
Field-Kit Training
Arsenicosis Management Training to the Doctors
Pond Area Measurement Training

We have state-of-the-art trainers and are capable of providing training on the followings:

  1. Community Development for Safe Water Supply
    • What is community?
    • What is community Development?
    • When and why do we need to develop a community?
    • When to develop a community?
    • Characteristics of Community Development Process
    • How to develop a community for a special need?
    • Ownership build-up
    • Monitoring of Activities
    • Institutionalizing CBO
  2. Hydrogeological Feasibility Survey
    • Need of Survey
    • Hydrogeological Cycle
    • Safe Water Devices
    • Criteria of Hydrogeological Standard for Specific Devices
    • Database Creation of Safe Water Devices
  3. Water Quality Testing
    • Existing Safe Water Facility Screening
    • Water Sampling and Monitoring
    • Maintenance of Safe Water Devices
    • Water Quality Testing
  4. Construction of Safe Water Devices
    • Designing of Filtration Devices
    • Processes of Construction
    • Principle/Basic Idea of Slow Sand Filtration/Roughing Filter
  5. Arsenicosis Patient Management
    • Basic Information of Arsenic and Arsenic Contamination
    • Social Aspects of Arsenicosis
    • Arsenicosis Case Detection and Management
    • Practical Session for Identifying Patients
  6. Basic Arsenic Mitigation
    • Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in Bangladesh and its Consequences
    • Integrated Approach for Arsenic Mitigation

Consultancy and Capacity Building

Consultancy for Safe Water Device Design and Construction

For facilitating organizations which are in need of technical help in providing safe water supply, we extend our expertise for proper designing and construction help.

Capacity Building of Beneficiaries and Their Supporters

For sustainability of infrastructures and for arsenicosis patient management, we build rapport with relevant entities. In case of safe water device management, we provide training to beneficiaries, local mason, arsenic mitigation committee, local government institutions, Upazila Public Health Engineering, non-governmental organizations, so that for any technical fault the beneficiaries by themselves or by the help of others can fix the problems without killing much time and can keep the safe water device running. In case of patient management, the patients and the Upazila Health Complex are connected by us through different activities. Sometimes the physicians at Upazila Health Complex are provided training under some projects.


Coordination

Coordination with Arsenic Mitigation Committee (AMC)

From the experience of previous and ongoing development projects, it is found that the arsenic contamination problems cannot be solved by the sole efforts of villagers. The support from and collaboration with government organizations are equally important. Therefore, in 2000, the Government of Bangladesh introduced the AMC at district, upazila, union, and ward levels as the implementing agencies of arsenic mitigation activities in cooperation with relevant government organizations.

We follow the government order and aim to build up the capacity of these AMCs in recognizing the risks of arsenic as their own, and in improving their ability to manage the safe water supply with their own initiative. We also support AMCs’ activities in the target area for sustainable arsenic mitigation. In order to achieve the goal, the following steps are considered and conducted:

  1. Providing trainings to AMCs.
  2. Supporting to hold AMC meetings for better coordination.
  3. Establishing the safe water device Application-approval System, the Maintenance and Monitoring System, and the Arsenicosis Surveillance System for conducting total arsenic mitigation activities.
  4. Supporting in planning and coordinating arsenic mitigation activities in their jurisdiction.

Coordination with Line Departments

The sustainability of any safe water devices depends on a hydrogeological condition of the particular device for a particular place and on smooth operation and maintenance. We ensure both by maintaining close cooperation of the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE). Prior to installation, we share information on geological setting, water quality, and maintenance during and after the project with the DPHE. For maintenance purpose, regional DPHE staff (sub-assistant engineer, mechanic) are given training to introduce the new device, so that they can help the beneficiaries in the time of need.

Pic: Department of Public Health Engineering staff are being given training.
Pic: Local NGOs are being given training for flip chart performance to the beneficiaries.

Coordination with NGOs

We believe in the coordination of all concerned in producing an optimal result for the benefit of the targeted people. As a continuous effort, we create network with the like-minded NGOs and individuals to share and to implement activities with the aim of long-lasting solution to arsenic related problems.


Charitable Works

As part of our benevolent and charitable works, we extend our hands for the salvation of the people devastated by natural calamities. In the past, we took part in the following activities:

To help the flood victims:

In September 2000, we in cooperation with a NGO named Banchete Shekha assisted the flood victims of Jessore district. And the victims of Samta village, Sharsha upazila, Jessore district. We distributed foods, medicine, tin, bamboo, concrete pillar, etc.

To help the people who suffered from cholera:

In 2004, we supported child, women, and other vulnerable people who suffered from cholera. We opened a temporary clinic for 4-5 days and provided first aid, such as oral-saline, necessary medicines, etc and transferred serious patients to hospitals.

To help the Sidr and Ayla Victims:

As part of rehabilitation works, we constructed 5 pond sand filters (PSF) in Sidr-affected Gabura union of Shyamnagar upazila, Satkhira district to ensure safe water supply.

After the Ayla, we instantly formed a rescue team and made many bags full of water bottle, clothes, medicine, lighter, candle, etc. Then we, as an emergency support, distributed the bags to 250 Ayla victims of Patakhali and Jhanpa villages of Padmapukur union, Singhartali of Munshiganj union of Shyamnagar upazila, Satkhira district.