Poung Jong Permanent Water Supply
The first water project of the season was completed just a couple of weeks ago. This village of Poung Jong has over 300 residents consisting of Hmong and Khmu ethnic backgrounds. Their main income is from tobacco, with most of it going to China. During the off season, the women focus on their weaving for sales of their Lao Skirts in Luang Prabang. The village has no electricity and up until now, they had no permanent water supply.
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- Villager weaving a new Lao skirt
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- Completion of a typical Tobacco Drying Tower. Walls are made of a mixture of mud and grasses.
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- Construction of a Tobacco Drying Tower
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- The forms were then transported to the site, located more than 6km away
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- The official handover of the inaugural pipe wrench to end the project and hand over to the village. They are a very happy village now!
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- Pipe is unraveled and laid in pre-dug trenches from the dam to the location of the water tank in the village
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- This project was funded in its entirety by 18 Rotary Clubs across 7 Districts in Canada and a Grant from stretching from coast-to-coast and a grant from Rotary District 7070
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- Water tank cures while the village constructs a safety fence around the tank to prevent the children from climbing it and jumping off…only to get hurt
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- Finished water tank
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- The Ultimate Goal…Running Water
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- Dam Construction, generally done by the men of the village
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- Due to the location of the dam, a trial setup was prepared in the village to ensure that all materials were available and forms prepared for the trek to the dam location
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- There are several compartments in the dam containing various sizes of rock and stone to filter out sediment before its 6km journey to the village
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- Success!
During the lockdown around the world, entry to Laos has been blocked so travel there by team members and project visitors was not possible. It meant that more paid labour was required at the sites, more coordination and management from Canada (with a 12 hour time zone difference), delays in getting pipe and connectors into the country and fundraising has been more of a challenge than ever before. As expected, many of our usual donors have chosen to support our local food banks, PPE (personal protective equipment) and other emergency supplies to those struggling here at home. However, the project targets were eventually reached! Here are some highlights of the Poung Jong project.
We offer our sincerest of thanks to all the Rotary members that raised the funds and made positive change for this village. THANK YOU!