Safe Haven Children’s Home

Tak Province, Thailand

Safe Haven is a home for children, widows and single mothers of the indigenous Karen hill tribe ethnic group who have been displaced or otherwise affected by violence and disruption associated with the ongoing conflict with the Burmese military dictatorship.

The home typically has about 50 residents, but for some periods may accommodate over 200 additional people fleeing intermittent outbreaks of conflict between the Burmese military and indigenous communities in the region.

The home suffers from general water stress and lack of safe drinking water, especially during the long dry season. With 50 residents, the home would spend US $75-100 per month on bottled water just to meet basic drinking water needs, and another US $100-150 per month on electricity for pumping water for all other uses (e.g. irrigation of gardens, bathing and washing clothes, etc.). With the increased influx of children and others escaping conflict zones, these costs could exceed $500 per month – a staggering amount for this impoverished community. Thus, a huge portion of the home’s limited funds have been depleted for access to basic water resources.

Aqueous Solutions has partnered with local NGOs to augment Safe Haven’s water supply with a multi-component system including connection to a local perennial spring, rainwater harvesting, and multiple-media filtration. Aqueous has completed the installation of several rainwater harvesting tanks and a filtration system to provide a secure supply of drinking water as well as clean water for cooking and washing dishes. We have installed a spring connection and gravity distribution system, and have made improvements to water storage tanks and bathing/washing facilities. We have also constructed small wetlands for greywater treatment near the kitchen and bathing areas. And we have installed several “tippy-taps” (handwashing stations), and instituted a hygiene program including soapmaking.