Darvish Yu, a member of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball established the “Darvish Yu Water Fund” in collaboration with the Japan Water Forum in March 2007 in order to supply safe water to people who face a lack of or contamination of water in developing countries. Since then, he has contributed to the Fund by donating JPY 100,000 at every one of his winning games during the regular season since then. So far, the Fund has subsidized 15 projects in 11 countries.

Outline of the 16th Darvish Yu Water Fund project

Jhimirethok village in Nepal built water supply system in 2020 but had to dismantle it due to a lack of electricity.  The villagers are dependent on traditional waterspouts for their drinking water.  The water from the spouts is contaminated.  During the dry months (March-June), the villagers must travel 3 hours to fetch water from streams.  They suffer from poor hygiene.  Reconstruction of the village water supply system and training on sanitation is expected to increase access to water to all households, and improve sanitation and hygiene services.

1. Project title
　Jhimirethok Water Supply and Sanitation Project, Nepal

2. Project site
　Jhimirethok village, Myagde rural municipality, Tanahu district, Gandaki province, Nepal

3. Project period
　May to December, 2023

4. Local partner
　Water Center Twenty One Pahal (Pahal)

　A non-profit organization challenging water and environmental problems, registered in Nepal 2021.
　https://www.water21st.com

5. Water problems at the target site

・A water supply system, including an AC pump, two tanks and a sump well, was built by the Myagde rural municipality in 2020.  However, it was immediately dismantled because there was no electricity supply from the national grid and the pump could not be used.  The community requested support several times from local NGOs, the rural municipality and local council offices, but to date no one has helped them.

・The villagers are dependent on traditional waterspouts for drinking water.  It takes a one to one-and-a-half hour round trip to fetch water, and the water from the spouts is contaminated.  During the dry months (March-June), the villagers must travel even further for water.  Thus, they lack access to a very basic drinking water supply and suffer from poor hygiene.

　The state of the implementation site

6. Project description

・Construction of a masonry intake/weir to tap spring water from the Fasurdi water source.
・Installation of a 250-meter pipeline
・Installation of a solar pump for the uphill storage tank
・Capacity-building training for water users and the sanitation committee
・Training of the operator about operations and maintenance of facilities
・Water quality testing

7. Prospected beneficiaries
22 households (47 men, 51women and 36 children, 134 in total)

8. Expected outcomes

・Access for 22 families to safe drinking water at their doorsteps.
・Health benefits: water borne diseases reduced through availability of safe water.
・Time savings on fetching water to a maximum of 3.5 hours per day.
　Time saved can be used for economic activities, schooling of children and other social activities.

This project will contribute to progress towards the achievement of the SDGs, especially:

▼For more information about the Fund and past projects, please visit the following website▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/what-we-do/darvish/

【Contact info】
Japan Water Forum
TEL: +81-(0)3-5645-8040 Fax: +81-(0)3-5645-8041
E-mail: office-info[at] waterforum.jp ※Please change [at] to @

(Reported by Takejiro Suzuki, Project Manager)