Students drink only rainwater

Students drink only rainwater

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

The death of a student at Ummul Quro Al Islami Boarding School in
Banyusuci kampong, Leuwiliang, Bogor, from severe diarrhea last
Sunday revealed a shocking fact: The students and staff at the
school have been consuming only rain water for the last two
years.

"We don't know why the piped water stopped running two years
ago ... we always paid the Rp 90,000 (US$9) monthly bill until
now.

"We have no other choice but to consume rain water because our
well has also been dry for sometime," the boarding school chief
Helmy Abdul Mubin told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

A total of 1,800 students, 77 teachers, 18 cooks and dozens of
other school staff have to reserve distilled rain water for their
daily consumption.

"We have to provide thousands liters of water ... 5,000 liters
just to cook rice every day," Helmy said.

However, rain doesn't fall every day in this often-rainy city.
During those days, students have to walk to the spring in Karacak
village, five kilometers from the boarding school. In one day,
they can bring back some 4,000 liters of water.

The lack of clean water is somewhat of an irony considering
that the name of the kampong literally means holy water.

"I believe that the lack of clean water here made us sick,"
Helmy said.

Over one hundred of students of the boarding school suddenly
fell sick on Saturday night. They complained of severe stomach
ache.

Aris Tadjudin died on Sunday, while around 20 other students
were treated in several hospitals and the remainder in the
boarding school.

The Bogor Health Agency and the police are still investigating
the cause of the diarrhea which was also suffered by residents in
the vicinity of the boarding school.

Meanwhile, spokesman from Bogor water company PDAM Tirta
Kahuripan, Sutisna, said that the company had to check why the
boarding school was not getting a clean water supply.

"We have never received any reports from our branch in
Leuwiliang about this ... we will soon send someone to check," he
said.