1. A Clean Water Supply to the Village
Many health problems stem from a contaminated water supply, and back problems come from carrying heavy water containers for long distances.
Before May 2002, this was the way that clean water was taken to the village. The boy would walk for 20 minutes, wait about 20 minutes for the 20 litre metal container to fill, and then make the return journey carrying the very heavy container in a basket, which is carried on the back and supported by a strap placed round the head. Each family could use up to 10 jars of water per day.
I was advised by Community Action Nepal [C.A.N] that I would need £3000 for materials to get the supply to our village. When I had raised the money by a sponsored walk and coffee mornings, the plan for 'Water in our village' was put into place. The work was all done by the villagers, organised by Jack and with technical advice from a C.A.N engineer.
The work started in May, 2002. It was very arduous work. The men dug the channels, 3 feet deep and approximately 1 and a quarter miles in length. They worked with very basic hand tools, bare feet and in temperatures of about 32°C. The ground is very hard and stony. The small children ran back and forth with water and snacks for the workers. Two concrete holding tanks were built into the ground, each holding 6000 litres of water. Eight water taps, each with it's own base where laundry could be done and showers taken were put in place, one water tap for every 5 houses. When all the water pipes were layed and connected to the next village, the water was turned on, the tanks filled and water flowed through the taps in October, 2002. The project had been entirely carried out by the villagers, to the C.A.N. engineers specificaions, so they know how to maintain their wate supply in the future.
The water project has been of enormous benefit to the village, and is now leading on to a number of planned extensions which will acheive major improvements to sanitation in the village, and the local primary school.
