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Water is essential to life. The human body is 75% water and to remain healthy it needs constant supplies of clean water. Around 71% of our planet is covered by water - but 97.5% of that is salt water and of the remaining 2.5% some is frozen in polar icecaps, other is present as soil moisture or in underground aquifers. In reality less than 1% of the world's water is accessible for direct human use. Experts meeting for the World Water Forum in the Hague to mark the International Water Day (March 2000) estimated that 1 billion people in the world lack clean drinking water and that around 3 billion do not have adequate sanitation. However, some of us take our water supply for granted - life without washing machines, dishwashers, showers and constantly running water for washing food, cleaning, for brushing our teeth... is undesirable. Life without clean water for drinking, for us, is unthinkable, but yet according to a United Nations report half the world's population has no access to clean water. Daily life for the inhabitants of Gangchen and the surrounding villages near Shigatse in Central Tibet - is a life deprived of access to clean water. The only water source is from a small pond at the side of which a well has been dug to provide the luxury of drinking water. Water is too precious for washing, cleaning clothes and even to water the crops that often fail in this arid region of Tibet. However, just 10km away is a source of water that could provide the whole area with enough water to meet all their needs and completely change the quality of life for the people living in this forgotten part of Tibet. With the help of Hugo Vargas (a civil engineer working for the Chilean based company Jack Stern y Cia. Ltda, who for 15 years have specialised in the design, engineering and construction of water transportation, irrigation and desalination of sea water) a preliminary project to transport water to over 1000 inhabitants of the area has been prepared. The project forsees the construction of an underground pipeline - taking into consideration the problems posed by the altitude, below zero temperatures and lack of power supplies - to provide the community with the minimum requirement of 86,4 lts of water daily per person (considerably lower than the 300 lts per day of western standards), as well 2 lts of water per second estimated necessary to create a suitable irrigation system. The excavation and installation of the pipes will have to be done by man and with a labour force of 100 workers it is estimated that 5 months (in the warmer period of the year) will be sufficient time to fully realise the project. This most precious natural element, water, is the one element that can really make the lives and environment of these people flourish. The estimated cost of the project is US $130,000. By making a donation (of whatever amount) you can help to give the precious gift of water to a person for the rest of their life - a gift which will keep on giving over the next generations. Donations can be made to Banca Popolare di Sondrio - Agency 13, Milan. Account: L.G.K.T. Pro Monastero di Gangchen; Number 7770/67; ABI: 5696; CAB: 1612; Swift code: POSOIT22MIL. Please specify Water Project on all transactions. For those interested, copies of the detailed water project can be obtained from «Help in Action», via Marco Polo 13, 20124 Milan, Italy. |
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