BRAZIL: Salesians carry out water system maintenance in Indigenous communities
Salesians oversee wells in around 80 villages in regions of Sangradouro, São Marcos and Parabubure
BRAZIL
(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries have carried out maintenance work on deep wells, replacing submersible pumps in various villages within the Parabubure Indigenous territory, in the Campinápolis area of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The goal is to ensure a strong water supply for the Santa Luzia, Santarém and Aopa communities.
The initiative was launched by Salesians in Sangradouro and involved missionaries and lay collaborators engaged in activities related to water access in the villages. Work began after the Salesians received reports of disruptions to the water distribution system.
In the village of Santa Luzia, the community leader, João Tsidzapi, reported that residents had been forced to return to collecting water from rivers following the breakdown of the local system. In Aopa, a broken pump had forced residents to resort to using streams or walking to other villages to obtain drinking water. Salesian teams carried out maintenance on the water collection systems and restored the wells to working order.
In the village of Santarém, Father Silvio Roberto, Father Joseph Tran Van Lich and Deacon José Alves de Oliveira replaced a solar-powered pumping system with an electric pump. The replacement became necessary following several faults in the photovoltaic system previously installed by Brazil’s Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health. The new system aims to make water distribution more regular and increase the amount of water available to the village.
The project was carried out in collaboration with the Special Indigenous Health District of Barra do Garças, which requested an exemption from electricity charges for the communal water points in the villages.
Salesians oversee the maintenance of wells in around 80 villages in the regions of Sangradouro, São Marcos and Parabubure. The work involves diagnosing faults, replacing submersible pumps and upgrading water collection systems. According to Deacon Oliveira, demand for new wells remains high in the region’s villages. Around 140 communities are still awaiting the drilling of new wells to gain access to water.
A Salesian explained, “The expansion of water infrastructure faces challenges linked both to demand and to the operational capacity of the institutions. The Special Indigenous Health District cannot, on its own, meet the needs of the number of communities requesting new systems. The operation of the systems also depends on external factors. The instability in the electricity supply from the Mato Grosso state power company can prevent testing and delay the commissioning of installed systems.”
Salesian missionaries and collaborators continue the work carried out for years in the villages of the region. The initiative builds on earlier commitments to drilling wells and maintaining water systems in Indigenous communities.
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Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
Salesian Missions – Brazil
World Bank – Brazil
