Why Working in Nepal is so Unique

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Written by neverthirst
Photography & Video by Tara Shupe

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Welcome to Nepal, a country with 8 of the tallest mountains in the world (heard of Mount Everest?), yet also a country where 96% of people groups are unreached.

Our work is in regions where water is really difficult to access—where women and children walk miles on steep and sometimes dangerous terrain to collect water for their families.

The geography in Nepal is categorized into three main zones: flatland, hilly, and mountainous (i.e. Mount Everest). Now what the Nepalese label “hilly,” the rest of us consider quite mountainous. These “hilly” regions are where one of our local partners works to serve the unreached.

The main source of water comes from natural mountain springs, where the water is generally clean and safe to drink. However, these springs are a significant distance away from villages and can only be reached by foot.

Women and children are the ones making this trek daily, sometimes taking 2 to 3 hours per trip. Even if the water is initially safe to drink, it can easily become contaminated while being carried back home.

So, what’s the solution? In water projects here, our local partner focuses on protecting the mountain spring source and getting it directly to homes. This process has several phases—involving the community throughout the project.

First, the spring source is connected to a protected reservoir to store the water. Then, community members help make trenches to lay pipes in the ground down the mountain. These pipes carry the stored water to household tap stands, what most of us call faucets. Since this region of Nepal is hilly, the water is moved by gravity alone—no water pump required—directly to homes in a village.

These gravity-fed systems have few moving parts, but the local water committee is trained to diagnose and repair any issues to keep water flowing for years to come.

Having clean water flowing directly to homes truly changes a community. The women and children no longer spend hours trekking steep paths to collect water, carrying every jar carefully back home. They can turn on the tap in their village and have water immediately!

Meet Damu, a mom of three who now has tap stands in her village—

“When this spring project started in our village, I was doubtful that it would actually be successful. In the past, I had to go to the river for collecting water. One time I was swept away by the current, but fortunately, I was ok. It’s scary remembering those days.

But all my doubts are now gone… I was working outside my house when water first came in through the tap. I heard the sound of falling water and I cannot begin to share my excitement and joy at that moment. I jumped and shouted ‘Water came! Water came!

Your gifts to neverthirst are providing clean water for the Nepalese and also giving more time back to women like Damu. More time for family, education, work, and play. This changes their daily lives and, in the process, creates an opening for the gospel.

Learn how you can help support a piped water project for a Nepal village here.

Here’s how you can get started:

Meet An Urgent Need

1 in 10 people lack access to clean water, and 4 in 10 lack access to the gospel. You can help meet urgent physical and spiritual needs together.

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