"I am from humble beginnings too," says Honorable Umakanta Chaudhary - The Water Minister of Nepal. This was right after our founder John Deyoung told the story of how he was found on the streets at the age of 4 in Suwon, South Korea. The two of them discovered that God has a plan for all of us, and John learned of the vision the minister had for his people of Nepal. Now, we have to take a step back and tell you the short version of the story of how Vivoblu Water for All even got in the room with such people.
In 2012, Sarah Davison-Tracy founder of Seeds of Exchange (local Denver nonprofit serving communities around the world) introduced John to her two close friends, Raju Sundas, and Hannah Badi from Nepal. Raju is a prominent local pastor in Kathmandu and has a deep love for his people, and Hannah is a survivor of trafficking and has an amazing story, published a book, possible Netflix Documentary, and desires to be a world-changer for the people of Nepal. They all have stayed in contact over the years, and when Vivoblu Water for All started in 2019, John reached out to Raju and asked the question - "Raju what is the need for clean water in Nepal?" to which he replied - "John sir, it is one of the greatest needs here." And that deepened an already blooming friendship in which finally in May 2022, they met in Nepal to discuss with many people including the Government, the needs of the Nepalese in regards to clean safe water. Raju and John both heard from the Honorable Water Minister - "Clean safe water is one of the greatest needs in Nepal. And I have the vision to see that every household in Nepal has clean water in the next 3 years." It's amazing the working hand of God in every relationship that has been built and is being built. The conversation between the Water Minister and John was contained to a 20 min time slot, but during that time, the Minister heard the genesis story of Vivoblu Water for All, saw the filter, discussed a pilot program in his original village, and was given a personal filter for his own home, to which he was very pleased. He is very concerned about the quality of water in his home, well, he doesn't need to worry anymore. We are so thankful to Raju, Hannah, and the honorable minister for the time and conversation. We are prayerful that we will have another meeting real soon to discuss that pilot program and look at the future to serve the whole country of Nepal.
Government Dignitaries meet John to talk about Clean Water
What is the poor water condition in Nepal? According to the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage in Nepal, even though an estimated 80% of the total population has access to drinking water, it is not safe. Those belonging to poor and excluded groups in rural areas have limited to no access. Many in remote areas must rely on small brooks running from the mountains and spend hours traveling to get water. Still, the drinking water available is not always safe as supplied water is often polluted. One of the reasons for this is that the surface and groundwater in the Kathmandu Valley are deteriorating by natural and anthropogenic contaminations. The surface water is polluted by industry and domestic waste along with the discharge of untreated sewage from tightly packed residential neighborhoods. The domestic sewage system is deemed one of the top sources of water pollution that seeps into rivers and lakes, which are the primary sources of drinking water. The capital city of Kathmandu is estimated to produce 150 tons of waste daily and almost half of this is dumped into rivers and 80 percent of the wastewater is generated by households. In addition, due to the increasing population and establishments, surface water sources alone have become inadequate to service everyone.
How Clean Water can open doors to the farthest communities