September 1997
30th September 1997
Rural Women's Education and Training Project
The new school semester has just begun. Thanks to DORS supporters, this semester we have been able to provide school fees for all the children with particular financial difficulties in villages where our other projects are underway. Of these children, seventy nine are attending primary school (49 girls and 30 boys) and eleven are attending middle school (6 girls and 5 boys).
As these villages are very poor, people have to find temporary labouring work to make ends meet. This is often the source of school fees. This summer, as villagers have been working without wages constructing their own water supply systems, they have not been able to earn as much outside of the village, therefore there was a particular need to provide assistance during this period.
Shashu Village - Project Begins
The drinking water supply project in Shashu village began this month, with funding from Misereor of Germany. The villagers are first constructing two drinking water tanks, one for each of the two parts of the village.
We conducted a baseline study in the village over two days to find out how water is currently. We found that the villagers had previously dug a small channel from the water source to a point above the village. From here, some people have bought their own plastic pipes to pipe water into their homes where it is stored in concrete chests. About half could not afford pipes so still carry water in a wooden back bucket or in buckets hanging from a shoulder pole. Plastic pipes are only suitable for use part of the year. In winter all water is carried for distances up to two kilometres, along steep icy mountain paths, many times a day.
When this DORS project is completed the people of Shashu will have clean water piped into the village.
