I walked the first kilometer with a small entourage in tow. By the time I reached the fifth km, I was walking among an entire village of school children. Dozens of adults looked, wondering what I was doing in this remote area (on the Nepal-India border) with all these kids. They were headed to school, and I was along to bear witness to their daily walk.
 
With one kilometer remaining, I learned: The ones who lived in the final stretch of the road to school had it good. Those less fortunate walked three to six kilometers, each way, each day. They did so to attend class in a school building that, in the States, would easily pass for an abandoned barn.
 
This particular walk was in 2003. I have since walked to school dozens of times, with thousands of Nepali children. The cities change, the physical facilities differ. The walks vary in degrees I’d classify from ‘difficult’ to ‘damn near impossible.' Yet despite the variations, there is one clear theme: each walk leads to a place where safe water is not present.
 
In late 2010 I visited the Baluddhar school, just outside of Kathmandu. Driving in, even before the sun had fully risen, we passed dozens of children walking to school. On our motorbike we closed the distance to school within 10 minutes. They still had another hour.


 
In Nepal – as in most countries where we work – kids get most of their drinking water at school. And like most of the projects we undertake, the students at the Baluddhar school were being (literally) sickened by this fact.
 
The principal pointed us to data showing nearly 20% of students missed class daily, most due to stomach illnesses and diarrheal disease. Of those who came to school, staff would treat four to five daily for diarrhea. The primary culprit? The well water provided to the students.
 
With a deep bore well 1/10th of a mile from the school, one would expect that students’ water needs could be met easily. On paper, it looks so. But this is where it gets tricky: Wells don’t necessarily provide safe water.
 
At Baluddhar, well water tested positive for high bacteria, iron and ammonia. What is more, this water was given to students without filter.


 
The region is incredibly poor. Families of these school children earn, on average, 30,000 rupees (less than $500 US) annually. The school and adjacent community simply could not provide adequate filtration amidst the myriad needs facing the school daily: books, desks, lights, teachers, and more. Thus, contaminated well water was the only viable option to provide the children.
 
Due to the distance to the well, staff would send small groups of children to retrieve water at least thirty times daily, and as many as fifty. One can only imagine the impact on their education. They carried small jugs back to school, then emptied them into a large, common pitcher. A single cup – yes, only one – was placed there for all children and staff to share.



450 children share one cup. The cup is filled with water from a contaminated well. The kids miss class time for this end result? I can’t help but envision how this might affect each child – their future health and opportunity – and I ache. I also grieve.
 
By the time the first students started arriving at school, our team had completed the final stages of our project. For a month, we had been working with the principal, surrounding community, and local supporters to do water tests, conduct surveys, assess available water supply, then finally construct a new water infrastructure: pumps, tanks, purification equipment, and a water station to provide water for both drinking and hand washing.
 
Once all the students had arrived, we unveiled the new water station. It was designed for use by all the students, all the staff, and all of the surrounding community - nearly 1,000 people inclusive. We turned the water flow on; our staff took the first drinks (our custom – because we would never ask children to drink something we wouldn’t drink ourselves); then we got the heck out of the way! A mob of students clamored to try it out!
 
These children had never seen piped water before, so water pressure was a delightful surprise. Water fights ensued, laughter rang out, and a small but meaningful conversation rippled through the staff. This day changed their school.
 
Every teacher, every nearby villager, and every student will now be able to quench their thirst safely and consistently. As we have seen countless times, and as these teachers quickly came to anticipate, fewer school days will be missed, test scores will increase, health will improve, and lives will be changed. This from such a very simple ingredient: clean water for drinking and hand washing.
 
For these children, the long walks to school will continue. In fact, I sincerely doubt in my lifetime that many will ever ride a bus. Their walk will not get any easier. Their families will continue to struggle with crushing poverty. The change for this school and its students, though, is that every child will arrive and have unrestricted access to clean and safe water. The flow is there, the water is theirs, and the small but very real opportunities it creates will last. In the development field there are so many things to tackle to overcome poverty. But without clean water, nothing else happens.
 
- Eric Stowe, December 2010

Please keep an eye on our work with the Baluddhar School on our ProvingIt website. (Baluddhar) There you will be able to view real-time updates from the field on progress that is being made.