CISS brings water to Yunnan

This past month, CWEF partnered with Concordia International School Shanghai (CISS) to install a clean drinking water project in a small village outside of Lincang, Yunnan.  22 students and 2 teachers helped dig trenches, lay pipe and build a cistern to help over 100 villagers get clean water.  Everyone put in a lot of effort and all together, with the villagers and students working side by side, the water project was almost completed in only one week.  Many of the students interacted with the villagers laughing and learning about each others lives.  A few boys helped build a basketball hoop out of bamboo and an old basket while some girls helped in the kitchen preparing our meals.  Many villagers have never seen a foreigner before and were very perplexed at our actions and speech. 

Each night the students reflected on their experience in the village that day and many were touched by how hard the villagers worked and what lengths they had to go to to get water.  Our partnership with CISS not only provides poor, rural farmers with clean water but it also opens the eyes of high school students to a different lifestyle.  In addition to this water project, CISS participated in an eyeglass clinic, two English teaching projects and another water project with CWEF this past month. 

The progression of a water project:

Identify clean water source and build cistern with filtration

Dig trenches and pipe water to village

Build cistern at village

Pipe water to each household

Clean water!

Carrying bricks up the mountain to build the cistern

Digging trenches

Building of the cistern

Some villagers laughing at the students

A few students made a basketball hoop made out of bamboo and a basket

Outside the home of a family where we did an interview

Helping remove corn kernels from the cob

Nice view!

Cistern at the fresh water source, the fire is to help attach two pipes

Workin hard

I made a friend