[Daniel Thomas, January 26, 2012]

PATHORKHALI, Bangladesh – Shahanara Begum beams as she works the pump lifting water from the village pond into a new sand filter that creates clean drinking water for many people in her village and nearby areas.

Shahanara Begum is proud to be one of seven women who maintains the filter, but she is especially happy to have clean drinking water within a hundred yards of her house. Before the filter was placed in June 2011, all the women of Pathorkhali village had to walk several miles and pay for pump water or make do with murky pond water.

Pathorkhali is in the center of the area worst ravaged by Hurricane Aila in 2009. At the time, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) worked with partner organization, Uttaran, to respond to needs for food, work, water and shelter. From MCC’s $68,000 response, a school and a road also were rebuilt

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