Asia

Bangladesh's Tea Workers Are Finally Getting Clean Water

The organization WaterAid partnered up with other groups to install wells and toilets.

Bangladesh's Tea Workers Are Finally Getting Clean Water
Abir Abdullah / WaterAid
SMS

Bangladesh's tea pickers do grueling work — and often without proper sanitation, like running water.  

Clean water sources like wells are important because otherwise, residents could get their water from the same streams that have sewage. 

That makes it easier for people to get sick. And with few medical care options for tea pickers, that can be serious. 

The organization WaterAid partnered with other local groups to make a difference and install wells and toilets. 

Many of the tea pickers are part of a minority group that's already marginalized in the country. 

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And the wages for the back-breaking work are very little — only about $1 a day

So for groups to install running water or toilets, they have to go up against estates that benefit from disempowering their employees.

With better sanitation, workers are able to be more effective and not get sick. 

Of course, a lot more could be done for Bangladesh's some 400,000 tea workers. But this is a step in the right direction.