2016. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)|Villagers of Lel Gaung in southern Shan State collecting water from a water bowser sponsored by Brighter Future Maynmar Foundation’s water project on April 28. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)|A child drinks water at Lel Gaung village on April 28. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)|A new drilling machine|A man fills water at a community water tank in Aung Ban. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)|Members of Brighter Future Myanmar Foundation distributed water at Naung Bote village near Taunggyi on April 26. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)|Local residents of Sein Ban quarter in Taunggyi collected water from a community water tap donated by Brighter Future Myanmar Foundation on April 26. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)
A child walks on the dried-up river bed of Thaminekham Dam near Aung Ban on April 28, 2016. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)
Villagers of Lel Gaung in southern Shan State collecting water from a water bowser sponsored by Brighter Future Maynmar Foundation’s water project on April 28. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)
A child drinks water at Lel Gaung village on April 28. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)
A dried-up pond in Pindaya Township in Southern Shan State on April 28. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)|A drilling machine at work at one of Brighter Future Maynmar Foundation’s water projects in Pinlaung Township in Southern Shan State. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)|A child walks on the dried-up river bed of Thaminekham Dam near Aung Ban on April 28
A new drilling machine
A man fills water at a community water tank in Aung Ban. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)
Members of Brighter Future Myanmar Foundation distributed water at Naung Bote village near Taunggyi on April 26. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)
Local residents of Sein Ban quarter in Taunggyi collected water from a community water tap donated by Brighter Future Myanmar Foundation on April 26. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)
AUNG BAN, Shan State — Shan State’s upland areas are typically cooler than the arid regions of central and lower Burma, although this year, it, much like the rest of Burma, has suffered from an unusually powerful El Niño weather pattern.
In southern Shan State, springs and lakes used by local communities to store rain water for domestic as well as farming purposes have been dry since February, leaving many villagers facing water shortages that are even more dire than those in previous years.
“The lake near our village dried up two months ago. Last year, we were able to use water from there until March,” said Tun Kyi, the head of Kalaw Township’s Le Gaung Village.
To tackle water scarcity, some local charities, such as the Brighter Future Myanmar Foundation, have started to distribute drinking water to villages. The foundation, the only in Shan State digging wells in hard-hit areas, has been collaborating with Burma’s government since 2014, receiving machines to drill into the mainly limestone Shan plateau. The foundation says that it has recently spent US$1.5 million to buy their own new drilling equipment and that they have dug over 100 wells in Shan State to date.
