DRINKING WATER for the earthquake victims in NEPAL

The earthquake in Nepal has awaken great consternation and deep compassion. In a country which was already hit hard by poverty and deprivation, the disaster has claimed thousands of dead and injured and countless people plunged into misery and despair.

We as those privileged by fate must not accept with our arms folded as large parts of the population are not only acutely traumatized, but remain deprived of their basis of existence in the long term. The GESINAS Foundation intends to help in giving the most needy victims of the catastrophe a chance to find a path back to a sustainable, self-paced life.

Of vital importance for the majority of people in Nepal is the access to clean water, which had already been precarious due to the extreme population growth. After the earthquake, the situation for many residents has turned dramatic. The disaster has devastating consequences for drinking water supply and further increased massively the threat of infectious diseases.

The large aid agencies arrive in Kathmandu these days to bring supplies to the population centers. But what happens outside the capital? It is to be feared that, as so often seen at similar events in the past, help arrives very late in remote areas, if it reaches them at all. In addition, support is then usually not sustainable, deflagrates quickly and lets the people alone in the long term in their time of need.

The GESINAS Foundation aims to improve the livelihoods of those in need in Nepal in order to give them the opportunity of regaining a self-sustained existence. For this reason, people in particularly devastated remote areas are supplied with mobile drinking water production devices. The system named "PAUL" (Portable Aqua Unit for Lifesaving) can be carried on the back like a backpack. This makes it possible to transport the equipment to places of destination even if roads are impassable for vehicles.

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A PAUL unit can generate about 1,200 liters of safe drinking water per day, enough to supply 400 to 500 individuals. We dedicate ourselves in person and in cooperation with Nepalese organizations to transport the equipment to the respective destinations and to take it in operation on-site. This course of action has the goal of help people in acute distress.

In addition, however, it is also aspired to achieve a lasting effect by enabling local residents to produce so-called BioSand filters, to, thus, sustainably ensure their vital water supply themselves, and, on top of this, to produce a marketable product (..\BioSandFilter\BioSandFilter Thailand.pdf). The GESINAS Foundation organizes its aid operations in Nepal on the basis of individual, voluntary work and with the help of a growing network of people in Germany and Nepal which are active in academic, economic and charity institutions and share a common humanist concern.

The GESINAS Foundation is a non profit organization and can issue donation receipts.

Bank Account for donations:

GESINAS-Stiftung, Kennwort NEPAL-Hilfe

BAN: DE13280629130014419300

BIC: GENODEF1BSL

Kennwort: NEPAL-Hilfe

GESINAS-Stiftung

Jägerstr. 4, D-26219 Bösel, Germany, Tel: (+49) 1705502123, email: werner.luttmann@gesinas.net

BioSand Filters (BSF) are installed to obtain clean drinking water.

Using these filters the use of wood as firewood is reduced as well as the exposure to smoke.

Example: BioSand Filters by RainTree Foundation in Thailand sponsered by GESINAS (Information in pdf)

More projects HERE.

Project of the GESINAS foundation