Nelumvilla- 1 Year On

Nelumwila,368 Thulana is a rural village in the Mahawilachchiya Divisional Secretariat in Anuradhapura District. More than 650 families reside in Nelumwila and the surrounding 22 villages. Villagers are faced with the crises of human-elephant conflicts almost everyday. These villages are home for more than 150 poultry farmers. These people who live among many difficulties, also suffer from lack of access to clean drinking water supply. Due to the abundance of calcium level in their well water and is unfit for consumption, the villagers are forced to buy drinking water for money. Although they use their well water for other household chores, wells get dried up during dry season. While most of the villagers being farmers, they mainly rely upon rain water for farming.

Villagers claim that 30 people have already passed away due to Chronic Kidney Diseases, as a result of consumption of hardwater. 150 kidney patients are still obtaining treatment. Gammadda was informed of this crises, following which a community water supply project commenced on the 06th November 2021, in Nelumwila, Mahawilachchiya and the project was vested to the public on 4 Feb, 2022- giving the community freedom from water scarcity.

Gammadda formed a Gammadda Saviya Society- these Saviya Societies are responsible for the maintain and upkeep of the Gammadda projects in their villages. While Gammadda does site visits frequently; it is the villagers who are responsible for the daily upkeep. This is done under the supervision of Gammadda officials, who maintain contact with the Saviya Society members. This demonstrates how sustainable Gammadda projects are.

Gammadda celebrated the 1 yr anniversary of the installation of the RO Plant in Nelumvilla by revisiting the village with the donors- representatives from theTennyson & Vinitha Rodrigo Trust Fund to do an inspection and distribute nutrition packs & toys to children, nutrition packs to pregnant mothers and gifts for the village elders.