Community Health & Empowerment Project

Most of the families in Kauledanda village are ethnic minorities and isolated. Due to the lack of water and drinking water facilities in the village, they have to walk for half an hour every day up a steep road to a traditional well below the village to get water and wait for one to two hours in the meantime. Due to a lack of skills and funding, they are unable to install a water system to pump water from downstream to the village. The women’s responsibility to fetch water for their families on a daily basis adds to their burden and makes life very difficult.

After observing the water supply situation in the village, Shanti Nepal’s project staff decided to support the village in addressing the chronic water shortage by assisting them in forming a water user committee, providing technical and financial support of 350,000 Nepali rupees, and informing the local government authorities of a collaborative solution to the village’s water supply problem.

The project helped the construction of 26 water taps in the homes of the village residents, and a large 20,000-liter water storage area was built on the high side of the village and plumbed to distribute water to the households. Now, all households have a running water supply for household use and feeding their livestock. Not only that, but they can also irrigate their vegetable gardens.

‘The villagers of Kauledanda, especially the women, are very happy after receiving water supply facilities because their burden is lifted, and it helps to reduce the gender discrimination of the traditional rural community where women have to take the role of collecting water from the tap.’ said the committee chairman. With the support of Shanti Nepal, the villagers’ dream of having a running water supply has come true!