Drilling Boreholes in Nepal

In the district of Nawalparasi in Nepal, several men are standing around a wooden shaft, with a beam that acts as a rudimentary lever. While one man pumps the lever, another deftly seals and then releases the end of a metal pipe, out of which water spurts with every cycle. To an outsider, the scene is a little odd, and quite messy, and yet these gentlemen are in the midst of a life-saving act; they are drilling a well. 

This traditional ‘sludger’ technique is used to sink a pipe into the ground, sometimes as deep as 60 meters, until fresh water is reached. The well is capped with a hand pump, cemented into position. It’s inspiring to see the drilling taking place, and utterly heartwarming to see the response from the tribe, whose lives are going to be made so much easier by having a clean water source in their village.

Mission for Tribes and Nations

“We have drilled 18 water wells with Feed The Hungry in Nepal in tribal communities called ‘Rat Catchers’”, explains Pastor Ruben Rasaili, who heads Feed The Hungry’s partner project in Nepal, Mission for Tribes and Nations. “Rat Catchers; they are the poorest tribes in Nepal, who are [seen by many as] untouchable and who are outcasted.”

Before the well, the villagers drank water from a polluted river, sometimes containing toxic elements like arsenic.

“So we are giving and helping these people have a new life by providing them clean water,” shares Ruben.

The well is life-transforming for these communities, but the support doesn’t end there.

“We not only give them a water well but together, we give them [the] Gospel because our vision is one water well is equal to one church plant. That means everywhere we have given a water well, we have appointed an evangelist and his duty is to have a relationship with the communities as well as do evangelism.”

It costs as little as £600 to drill a well in Nepal. Ruben concludes, “These people have clean water and fresh water, as well as they have church in the community. So thank you so much for making this happen.”