World Water Week 2023: Bringing clean water to Orbara Tole

Water plays a vital role in many aspects of our lives…

Yet it is easy to take for granted access to clean water whenever we need it. For many remote villages in Nepal, finding a clean and safe source of water is a daily struggle.

In honour of World Water Week, we wanted to highlight how our water projects are life-changing for communities in Nepal. As part of our projects we build a tap stand for every household in a village, locating a safe water source to pipe straight to villagers’ doorsteps. Once installed, we show residents how to maintain their new water system and advise them on best practices in sanitation and hygiene. By providing education on the importance of sanitation, we see a sharp drop in waterborne diseases.

A village in need

Orbara Tole is a group of remote settlements in the western hills of Nepal, located 2.5km away from the nearest main road, accessible only by a long gravel track that can become impassable in the rainy season. Most of the villagers are subsistence farmers, growing wheat, maize, barley, beans, and black soybeans.

With a new tap stand, Sashikala no longer needs to walk a long distance to fetch water – she can spend more time with her newborn.

Before our intervention, Orbara Tole had great difficulty with its existing water supply. Based in the hilly Jajarkot District of Nepal, the remote village relied on a communal water system of repurposed piping, collecting water from an open source in the hillside. Though 228 people relied on this water supply, at times it was unsafe to drink, and often dried up in the hot season.

Spending long periods of time collecting water has traditionally been a great burden for women and children in Nepal, disrupting women’s ability to work and children’s ability to receive an education. The same was true in Orbara Tole, where villager Sashikala told us that she and others had to walk for over an hour to fetch water from their communal taps, carrying it back in heavy Doko baskets. “During my pregnancy, we did not have water in my household,” she recalled, explaining how she and other pregnant women had to make the journey through the jungle, where they could slip and suffer an accident.

Vigilance funds a new water project

Security firm Vigilance is a longstanding supporter of the GWT and a Platinum member of our Business Club. Last year, the firm’s CEO and COO took on an incredible challenge to raise funds for Orbara Tole’s water project. Seb Mackenzie-Wilson and Ed Mills cycled from Kathmandu to Everest Base Camp on specially adapted Brompton Bikes. They completed the challenge in just 14 days, raising a phenomenal £18,394.

Thanks to Vigilance, our teams got straight to work in Orbara Tole, making a design plan, gathering the materials, and building the structures for the project. We built a tap stand for each of the 39 households, as well as a water storage system.

“We can now access safe water 24 hours a day in our households,” said Purna Bahadur, who lives in the village. “We are hoping that this system will be sustainable. At first, it was very hard to access safe water. After the completion of this water supply project, the community people feel relief…I want to thank the GWT and Vigilance for providing water to the rural communities of Nepal.”

Radhika, another villager in Orbara Tole, explained that the new water supply has already made a difference for women and children in the community. “[Before] it was difficult to fetch water. The main positive impact for women is the time saved with the safe water. Now, children’s health will also be improved.

“Mainly the children and women are benefitted from this water project. Children can go to school on time. I as a mother can prepare their food as well as relax as I don’t have to fetch water. Pregnant women and mothers are very lucky now. They don’t have to go through hardship. Thank you to the GWT and Vigilance for helping mothers like me in providing safe water for my family and children.”

Our water is A+

Once again our water projects in Nepal have exceeded the expectations of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. We are delighted to have achieved an A+ grade in their 2022/2023 annual review. We would like to thank our teams in Nepal, who work incredibly hard to provide rural communities with vital supplies of clean and safe water.