In March 2007, Major League baseball player Darvish Yu of the San Diego Padres established the Darvish Yu Water Fund in collaboration with the Japan Water Forum in order to supply safe and clean water to those in need in developing countries. Since then, he has contributed to the fund by donating JPY 100,000 for every one of his winning games during the regular season.
So far, The Fund has subsidized 16 projects in 11 countries.
１６th Project: Jhimirethok Water Supply and Sanitation Project
Outline
Jhimirethok village in Nepal built a water supply system in 2020 but had to dismantle it due to ａ lack of electricity. The villagers were dependent on traditional waterspouts for drinking water. Unfortunately, the water from the spouts was contaminated. During the dry season (March-June), the villagers had to travel three hours to fetch water from streams. They suffered from poor hygiene. Reconstruction of the village water supply system and training in sanitation was expected to increase access to water for all households and improve sanitation and hygiene services.
【After the project】
１．Project site
Jhimirethok village, Myagde Rural municipality, Tanahu district, Ghandaki province, Nepal
Created with mapchart.ne
Created with mapchart.ne
２．Beneficiaries
22 households: 47 men, 51 women and 36 children, 134 people in total.
３．Project period
May 2023 to January 2024
４．Local partner
Water Center Twenty One Pahal（WC21P）
A non-profit organization working on water and environmental problems, registered in Nepal in 2021.
５．Water problems at the target site (before the project)
- 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 soon 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 received no help.
- The villagers were dependent on traditional waterspouts for drinking water. It took a 60 to 90 minute round trip to fetch water, and the water from the spouts was contaminated. During the dry season (March-June), the villagers had to travel even further for water. Thus, they lacked access to even a very basic drinking water supply and suffered from poor hygiene.
６．Project summary
The planned construction work has now been completed; all 22 private taps are now functional, and the project has been inaugurated and handed over to the community. A tripartite agreement was made between the Myagde rural municipality, Water Center Twenty-One Pahal and the Water Users and Sanitation Committee (WUSC). The support given by the Myagde rural municipality was highly appreciated. In addition, the beneficiaries made incredible in-kind contributions, providing porterage, foundation digging, transport of materials, and pipeline trench digging. The operator, Mr. Deepak BK, is trained and employed by the WUSC (salary: 2,000 NPR per month) and users have been collecting a water tariff of 150 NPR per month for a minimum consumption of 5,000 liters per household. The payment from the rural municipality has been settled as agreed.
【Project activities】
- WUSC formation and registration
- Tripartite agreement
- Pre-construction training
- Materials procurement, transportation, and storage
- Intake construction
- Trench digging, pipe laying, and back-filling of transmission pipeline (32mm diameter by 250m length) and distribution pipeline (20mm diameter by 200m length)
- Repair and protection of sump well.
- Installation of two-horsepower solar pump
- Repair of private taps, water meter connection and flow testing of each tap
- Post-construction training.
- Operator on the job training at construction site
- Hygiene and sanitation awareness campaigning
- Operator training, employment, and monthly water tariff collection
- Construction of a toilet for one family that did not have one before the project.
- Sign and display board.
7．Outcomes
- Access for 22 families to safe drinking water at their doorsteps
- Health benefits: water-borne diseases reduced trough availability of safe water.
- Time savings on fetching water of around 3 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:
SDG 3：Good health and well-being
SDG 4：Quality education
SDG 6：Clean water and sanitation
８．Voices of the beneficiaries
１）Khima Devi BK, 58 years old, Dalit, farmer
I’m thankful for having water at home now. The donor is like a god to me. I never expected that water would become available in the village. I’m using wastewater to grow vegetables in my kitchen garden. We used to spend more than an hour fetching water from a faraway source before this project. Thank you, donor, for your kind help in saving our lives by providing safe drinking water.
２）Prem Kumari Sinjali, 36 years old, secretary of the WUSC
I used to fetch water from a traditional spout. It would take more than an hour per trip. Now I have water at home to use for kitchen gardening. I’m also responsible for collecting the water tariff of 150 NPR per month per household. Mr. Deepak BK is employed as the operator. Thank you all for your support in bringing water to our yards.
【Before the project】
【During the project】
The project was carried out by WC21P in cooperation with the village community and other stakeholders, by means of the Darvish Yu Water Fund, supported by Darvish Yu of the San Diego Padres of Major League baseball team, and many other donors. We offer our sincere thanks to all for their warm support and cooperation.
▼ For more information on the Darvish Yu Water Fund:▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/what-we-do/darvish/
(Reported by Takejiro Suzuki, Project Manager)
