BWCC

Ni Wayan Rasmini (Left), Member of the Women's Water Rights Fighter Community - Wayan Rasmini, a Primary School Graduate Housewife from Kintamani, Fighting to Overcome the Water Crisis in Her Village

Tribun Bali, Denpasar - Wayan Rasmini is a housewife who only graduated from elementary school but has a high fighting spirit to tackle the water crisis in her village, namely Banjar Konyel, Kedisan Village, Kintamani Sub-district, Bangli District, Bali.

Rasmini has a strong desire to alleviate the burden on the women in Kedisan Village who are facing a water crisis.

To meet their water needs, the residents of Kedisan Village have to walk as far as 1 kilometer from their homes to the water source.

This is also experienced by Wayan Rasmini, a housewife who hopes her burden of accessing clean water can be lightened.

Clean water is, of course, a basic necessity that must be available at home. The limited access to water has fueled Wayan Rasmini's high spirit to address the water problem in Kedisan Village.

“In my village, it’s mostly the girls who fetch the water, and we usually only have time to do it in the afternoon after spending the morning working. So, because of the dark conditions, I’m afraid something might happen on the way to get water, especially since the distance from home to the water source is about 1 kilometer. That’s why I took the initiative to seek out Ibu Buda to address the water crisis we are experiencing in Konyel Village,” said Rasmini.

Rasmini's struggle to tackle the water crisis began in 2023.

Her journey started when she met Buda, an activist from the Bali Women Crisis Centre Legal Aid Institute (LBH BWCC).

At that time, Buda and her colleagues were conducting socialization and research on clean water.

Wayan Rasmini did not miss the opportunity to share her village's problems, hoping that the LBH BWCC could help address these issues.

“I met Ibu Buda from LBH BWCC, who was at that time conducting a socialization in Kedisan Village to handle the clean water crisis. I used that moment to explain the issues I was facing regarding the water crisis in Kedisan Village, Banjar Konyel, and luckily, she responded positively to the problems I raised,” she continued.

Many in the community belittled Rasmini's opinions.

However, some supported her in addressing the water crisis, though most of the community still relied on government assistance.

Unfortunately, the assistance the community hoped for from the government never arrived.

The government only stepped in when the process of addressing the water crisis was nearly complete.

“The challenge I faced was, of course, the community’s tendency to belittle my efforts. But I didn’t care because the goal was to solve the water crisis in my village. However, there were also some people who supported my struggle,” said Wayan Rasmini.

In her fight to solve the clean water problem, Rasmini and her colleagues encountered unique stories.

For instance, when searching for the water source location, Rasmini and Buda even sought help from five local priests to locate the water source in Konyel Village.

With cooperation from the optimistic local community, who believed that clean water would eventually flow into their village, their efforts were not in vain.

As the saying goes, effort never betrays the results, and this was true for Rasmini.

Her one-year struggle to overcome the water crisis resulted in satisfactory outcomes, thanks to the help from various parties.

The assistance provided varied, including tools to support the water distribution process, such as faucets, pipes, and other equipment.

To this day, water now flows to Konyel Village, making it easier for residents to access clean water.

Rasmini's hope is quite simple, she just hopes that more people will care about the problems in her village so that they do not always have to rely on the government to solve them. (*)