Rainwater harvesting is an effective strategy to combat global poverty and improve health. Having access to clean water promotes hygiene and sanitation, increases crop production, and saves time for other productive activities instead of searching for water. Poverty and water accessibility are inevitably dependent on each other. Without an easily accessible water resource, people spend time and energy trying to find the resource to do things like clean and cook. A lack of clean water keeps children out of school, reduces crop production, and allows diseases to spread due to a lack of sanitation and hygiene.

Infrastructure in Nepal

Nepal’s water infrastructure is underdeveloped. Citizens of Nepal struggle daily to find access to clean, usable water sources. Water containing arsenic and pollution from nearby cities plagues government buildings, schools and rural villages. Arsenic, while visibly undetectable, is a deadly chemical. Nepal’s Department of Water Supply and Sanitation had estimated that 85 percent of the population does not have access to safe water.

Water in Nepal

That is until Zachary Wong, a teenager from California, stepped in and founded Water in Nepal, or WIN. Wong raised about $27,000 to help fund more than twenty water-related projects from cities to villages around Nepal. WIN invests in water filtration systems and rainwater harvesting projects in Nepal. To do this, they “fund locally-appropriate solutions…focus[ed] on buying materials from local markets and [hired] local workers” to complete the project. Wong and his team have helped 11 schools, four rural villages, and five nonprofit groups. So far, he has brought safe drinking water to more than 8,000 people, with plans to help many more.

One of the more recent projects took place at Gita Maata Secondary School in Kathmandu, Nepal. Wong is currently implementing a rainwater harvesting system to ensure that all 2,500 students, staff, and faculty have enough water. Before WIN’s involvement, the school had one water-well that could not satisfy the school’s needs. Forced to pay for water tanks, the school lost money that could be used to improve facilities and education programs. Thanks to WIN, the school has 380 feet of rain gutters and high-quality pipes that lead to a storage tank for excess rainwater.

 

Between 1990 and 2012, the number of those living without clean water has decreased by half “with 2.3 billion people gaining access to improved drinking water.” Thanks to people like Zachary Wong and so many other researchers and innovators, the awareness of the link between access to water and poverty is coming to light. Companies like WIN are devoting time and resources to help communities across the globe fight poverty through water projects. Rainwater harvesting is an excellent way to do just that. 

 – Hannah Kaufman

Photo: Flickr