In remote villages of Laos, considered the most bombed country in history where one-third of the population was killed during a 20-year civil war, lack of access to clean water is both a health problem and a barrier to education for many children.
The village of Ban Xiengda has running water for the first time, allowing children and women to trade off time and energy for hauling water uphill over great distance for school and other family essential activities, thanks to the Rotary Club of Ladner and other clubs in B.C. and Ontario, including the Rotary Club of Tsawwassen.
Faced with its 2016 population of 1,133 expected to triple in five years, the village of Ban Xiengda had one cement block toilet with no running water. A new system to deliver water to the village was needed.
Members of the Rotary Club of Ladner took action to enable women and children to avoid the constant trek to the nearest water supply and long, arduous uphill trek back home when they could be in school or engaged in other productive family and village activities.
Ladner Rotary took the lead in constructing a $45,000 project to deliver water directly to the village, including a dam, 6.5 kilometres of pipe and 15 taps throughout part of village.
Some Ladner Rotarians had been visiting Ban Xiengda and other remote villages of northern Laos in recent years to deliver water purification filters and, in turn, enable education under the registered charity, Adopt-A-Village in Laos program, founded by Rotarian Steve Rutledge.
The new system delivers water directly to the village, the water filters clean the water for drinking, reducing the time and energy for accessing water and reducing the chronic diarrhea among all ages of villagers, including children prevented from attending school.
The Rotary Club of Ladner provided 45 per cent funding for the project.
Visiting remote villages of Laos, with other Rotarians and friends, to deliver water filters and leading fundraising back home have been Ladner Rotarians Mike and Kathy Storey who have led the project, Diana Nimsick with daughter Tamara, Sonia Baron, Sandra O'Keeffe, and Dawn and Beau Rutledge-Brennan, who joined a team of others involved in the Adopt-A-Village program.
