Evanton man's Nepal water efforts are changing lives
An Evanton man has expanded his ambitious charity plans after managing to install running water in a remote Nepal village.
Ian Bent established The Bimiri Foundation in 2015 to help his friends in the village who were suffering.
Women and children faced long walks daily carrying heavy water baskets on their heads and backs.
Now, 112 taps have been installed in 112 houses in Bimiri, but Mr Bent wants to keep going.
Whilst their life is still hard in the village, Ian said the change “had taken a weight off their plate.”
He continued: “The original aim was just to help Bimiri but not long after starting that I was already thinking we can extend and we could run the pipe out to the others.”
He has set himself a new challenge of getting water to all seven villages in the district, and his next target is Sawara. He plans to raise money in a number of ways.
Currently, Mr Bent is walking 1.5km daily for 30 days to the nearest temple to him in Kathmandu to raise money for his next project.
He began with 20 kg of water on his back, and has added an extra kg each day since.
Not wanting to rely on crowdfunding, the foundation plans on building a homestay and café which will generate more income for the project whilst creating local jobs.
On average, the foundation brings in £7000 per year, but with the homestay Mr Bent estimates that this will generate £7000 per month.
Mr Bent added: “One of the targets is to be creating an income for the people here. We are trying to set up a small business that will generate income for the cause and set up jobs for the locals.
“For years friends of mine have gone off for six months to work and they are away from their kids. The homestay will be a place where supporters of the cause can come over, pay a donation and stay. They can eat food, chill out and see what we do.
“Rather than just asking for donations, they’re getting an experience of a lifetime from it.”
He has also managed to take the lease of a nearby restaurant at the Namo Buddah monastery which has already provided jobs and income.
Mr Bent has set a fundraising goal of £7500 to build the homestay. Donate at https://tinyurl.com/4nj5hd4t.
