Engineers Without Borders USA Helped to Provide Easy Access to Drinking Water in Tanahun

The Hartford Professional Chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA worked on a project in Sabhung village that provided easy and safe access to drinking water to the village residents.

The Backstory:

• Back in 2014, the Hartford Professional Chapter of Engineers without Borders USA started a project in Sabhung village in Tanahun to build a pipeline to move drinking water up a mountainside. The project provided Sabhug’s 800 residents access to drinking water in an easier and safer manner.
• Last year, the group made a follow-up visit to the project site, to see if the project was operational. Then the project was officially wrapped up.

Why it matters:

• People living in the mountain region of Nepal still do not have proper and safe access to drinking water. In order to get drinking water, people have to travel a significant way on the steep mountainside, and they have to carry heavy containers back to their place of residence.
• The result of the project was a solar powered water pumping system that brings water to the village through a series of sequenced holding tanks located on strategic points in the village. So, the villagers can get access to water via those seven tanks or access points.

The Details:

• Majority of the engineers who took part in the project worked for Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford. Since there was a language barrier between them and the citizens, they worked with translators provided by Namlo International.
• The working conditions for the engineers were very challenging at the time, with no cell phone and Internet connection and only access to electricity at irregular intervals.
• According to Tom Rebbecchi, a materials engineer at Pratt, the funds from the project are mostly arranged from fundraisers and grants from major companies.