Who we are
We are a group of volunteers that came to know each other while helping a family in Nepal, which has inspired us to launch this fundraising campaign to support the locals in the construction of a new water system.
Project Story
Chooti Danda, meaning 'The little crest', is a small village of 12 farming families in the Dhading district located 36 kilometers from the capital of Kathmandu, Nepal. The 12 houses are spread over a steep hill above the road.
On the 25th of April 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Kathmandu valley resulting in the death of 8000 people and twice as many injured. Moreover, many houses and infrastructures (road, school, water pipe and tank, etc.) were completely or partly destroyed.
In Chooti Danda, 10 out of the 12 houses of the village were destroyed. Fortunately there were no casualties in the village, however the aftermath has left significant economic consequences. As farming families, the livestock which they relied on (cows, goats, chicken) perished in the earthquake. On top of this, the water supply system of the village was also destroyed.
About this Project
Since April 2015, all the families have managed to rebuild temporary homes, and starting the process of rebuilding their lives. The villagers have built a temporary water supply system, which consists of a unique small pipe that connects a source of water on the top of the mountain to the different houses.
However, this system is very precarious since all the families cannot access the water at the same time so they need to organize all day long to take their turn of water by disconnecting/reconnecting their own pipe to the main pipe. It is obviously not convenient for the daily house tasks like washing dishes, clothes, flush the toilet, having a shower. The lack of a sound water supply system is also a major problem for all those farmers who need to irrigate their fields, sometimes causing conflicts between the neighbours.
Furthermore, this make shift system is highly hazardous; as the pipe is buried precariously shallow, the system is frequently disconnected (particularly during the frequent monsoon seasons). The place where the pipe takes source has to be cleaned very regularly because soil and dirt block the pipe.
