Water

Karuna-Shechen has been providing access to safe drinking water for disadvantaged communities in India for the last decade. Sixty percent of childhood diseases are caused by infectious diseases and parasites linked to water. We have installed a series of deep tube wells and hand pumps in twelve Indian villages in Bihar (9,000 people) to avert the spread of water-borne diseases.

The pumps have to be checked and cleaned annually to be effective. Local village committees (that include women) oversee the maintenance and repair of the hand pumps. However, the use of hand pumps depletes the water reserve and we are exploring other methods of supplying water.

In partnership with the Barefoot College and Bunker Roy, Karuna-Shechen is beginning to install rain harvesting systems, a sustainable and long-term solution for water shortages, in remote locations in India and Nepal. This traditional proven method helps to replenish groundwater tables directly and indirectly by creating alternative sources of water. The safest drinking water comes from naturally filtered rain water harvesting.

Our first rainwater harvesting projects are in a primary school located in the village of Banepa, 26km east of Kathmandu and in the Namo Buddha Retreat Center.