Water shortages are increasing because of global warming and other climatic or environmental factors. Villagers in the hills of northern Thailand continue to ask for assistance with establishing new systems and expanding old ones, because of nearby water sources drying up, village population’s increasing and/or villages being relocated to new areas. Also, villagers that once were able to collect water from nearby streams, springs and shallow wells can no longer do so on account of these sources becoming polluted by chemicals, in addition to human and animal waste.
For about the last 25 years, the leader and his team of around 25 refugee hill people, trained by him, have been providing fresh water on a village-by-village basis to stateless refugees where they live in the forests of northern Thailand. Water is provided to every home in each village and to date over 250 villages receive fresh water which is around half the villages that constitute the whole community. The water is provided from mountain streams and is transmitted by gravitational feed. The average distance to each village from their water source is five kilometres and the villagers work with the experts to provide the channelling of the water from its source.
To date fresh water has been provided to 60,000 people; a million gallons of water are delivered each day. The 250 installations completed over the last 25 years are all still operational. The goal is to provide water to every village.
