A Better Life with Clean Drinking Water

Told by Lenin Ne, TerraClear Representative, Champassak Province, Laos

October 2024

Tey and Lah, a young couple living in Kongthoon village, are the proud parents of two daughters, Maina and Anu, ages 4 and 2. From the moment Maina was born, Tey and Lah’s hearts were burdened with a constant worry: the safety of their drinking water. The nearby river, their primary water source, was contaminated, often leading to bouts of illness when they had no choice but to drink from it.

At Maina’s birth, the couple was determined to give their daughter a better life. Tey and Lah decided that Maina would only drink clean water. As subsistence farmers, their income was meager, but they were resourceful. Tey took on occasional daily labor, using the extra income to buy expensive bottled water for Maina. On days when money was too tight, they would gather wood to boil the river water, doing their best to make it safe for their child.

When their second daughter, Anu, was born, the struggle to provide clean water intensified. The cost of bottled water was too high to sustain, and the wood needed for boiling was becoming scarcer. Each time one of their daughters fell ill, Tey and Lah were haunted by the fear that the contaminated water was to blame.

Then, one day, a representative from TerraClear visited their village with life-changing news. Tey and Lah had been selected to receive a subsidized TerraClear ceramic filter. They could hardly believe their luck. They had seen their neighbors, who had purchased a TerraClear filter two years earlier, enjoy good health, free from the waterborne illnesses that had plagued the village.

With hearts full of hope, Tey and Lah agreed to pay the additional $5 needed to secure the filter, an affordable price for them. Now, with the TerraClear ceramic filter in their home, Tey and Lah are confident that Maina and Anu will grow up healthy and strong, free from the dangers of contaminated water. The filter has not only given them clean water but also the promise of a brighter future for their family.