Phàng Củ is one of the villages severely lacking water for daily use, with over 90 households relying on just two natural water sources. During the dry season, the water level drops significantly, rising only 15-20cm overnight, making life even harder for the residents due to water scarcity. Many have to wake up at 5a.m. to fetch water.

Hờ A Vủa, a resident of Phàng Củ village, shared: “My family of eight has to fetch water three times a day, each time carrying four 20-liter cans. Water is scarce, so we must prioritize its use; water from washing dishes and vegetables is reused for livestock. Every two to three days, we take our clothes to the water source to wash them.”

The lack of water for daily use not only affects the lives of the people but also impacts the education and activities of students in the area.

Phình Sáng commune has five schools: Nậm Din Primary School, Phình Sáng Primary School, Phình Sáng Secondary School, Phình Sáng Kindergarten, and Nậm Din Kindergarten. To ensure water supply, the commune has proactively collaborated with the district’s Education and Training Sub-department to call for benefactors and businesses to support well drilling, basically meeting the water needs of teachers and students at the main school sites.

However, at some school sites, teachers and students still have to endure the lack of water for daily use.

Teacher Sùng A Su, who has been with the Mý Làng A primary school site of the Nậm Din Ethnic Boarding Primary School for eight years, shared: “The school site has 21 students, and during the dry season, there is no water. To have drinking water for the students, teachers and parents contribute money to buy bottled water. Teachers have to save every basin of water for cooking and washing dishes daily. My home is in Pú Nhung commune, and whenever I have the chance or go home on weekends, I bring a 20-liter can of water back to the school for use. For bathing and laundry, we mainly go to the Nậm Din stream or the main school site. I hope that the authorities will soon invest in a water supply system so that children and people in the highlands no longer suffer from water shortages.”

It is known that Phình Sáng commune has 10 villages, but nine of them lack water for daily use, with some villages like Háng Chua and Phàng Củ being severely affected.

Chairman of the Phình Sáng commune People’s Committee, Thào A Dơ, said: “To address the water shortage, the commune encourages residents to proactively store water during the rainy season by building tanks, buying containers, or drilling wells. Additionally, the commune collaborates with the Education and Training Department to seek social support for drilling wells at schools in the area. We have requested the district People’s Committee and relevant agencies to continue investing in water supply systems in the commune. Currently, the Tuần Giáo district People’s Committee has decided to upgrade and repair water supply projects in Mý Làng A, Mý Làng B, and Khua Trá villages.”