RANIKHONG, Bangladesh (UCAN) -- Dirty drinking water used to cast a sometimes fatal shadow over villagers here in northeastern Bangladesh, but a Church-run water project has brought new hope.

Bishop Paul Ponen Kubi seen inaugurating one of two large water-purification machines at Ranikhong parish in Mymensingh.

Peter Ritchil, 55, has a personal reason for stressing the importance of clean drinking water. "A few years ago, my 13-year-old daughter died from the effects of diarrhea due to drinking impure water," he told UCA News. "If we had water-purifying machines like today, she would be alive."

Ritchil was speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony in the parish compound on July 24 for two large water-purification machines provided by Caritas Bangladesh and World Vision. Bangladesh, respectively Catholic and Protestant organizations.

Ranikhong, the oldest parish in Mymensingh diocese, has 8,000 Catholics according to the Bangladesh Catholic Directory 2007. It is based about 190 kilometers northeast of Dhaka. The majority of the local people are tribal Garo, as in many villages throughout the diocese.

Attending the inauguration were Holy Cross Bishop Paul Ponen Kubi of Mymensingh; Benedict Alo D'Rozario, executive director of Caritas Bangladesh; Nicholas Biswas, local area development project manager of World Vision Bangladesh; and Ranikhong parish priest Father Simon Haccha.

The joint effort of Caritas and World Vision aims to provide life-saving filtered water for the 300 Ranikhong villagers and 700 students of Ranikhong High School.

People used to drink dirty water from rivers, canals and streams, which caused health problems, according to local people. Hundreds of people died from waterborne infections, including diarrhea, typhoid and cholera over the years. Women and children used to walk a long distance to fetch water from a well.

Nilima Ritchil, 42, a housewife unrelated to Peter Ritchil, said fetching water from far away used to be very difficult, and people felt embarrassed not to be able to provide clean water when guests visited.

Celestine Sangma, headmaster of Ranikhong High School, told UCA News, "The Someshwari river flows by Ranikhong, but there was no pure water supply here, and very few people had access to clean water."

Sangma said villagers used to rely on a tube well in Boheratoli village, about one-and-a-half kilometers away. But during the rainy season, floodwaters submerge this well, he added.

Sangma thanked the project donors for "ending the days of suffering."

The two newly installed machines can filter up to 10,000 liters of water a day piped in from the river.

Father Haccha explained to UCA News that rocky ground prevented the villagers from drilling tube wells, so they previously had to drink water from unsafe sources.

He sought a solution on his own, he explained, because the villagers were complaining and the local government did not address their complaints. The priest called on Caritas and World Vision to help. The two Church social-welfare organizations brought in water specialists from Jahangirnagar University in Savar, near Dhaka.

Biswas expressed his satisfaction with the project and stressed the importance of carrying out proper maintenance of the water filters.

D'Rozario told the villagers this was the first time Caritas had been involved in setting up water-purifying machines in Mymensingh diocese.

He added that Caritas would provide more machines for the diocese in the future and, like Biswas, stressed the importance of maintaining the filtration machines and using them properly.

Pointing out that water crises are emerging around the world, he told the villagers they are not alone in the difficulties they faced to obtain clean water.

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