Rewarding experience for Riverina Water staff helping to build vital infrastructure in Nepal

May 09, 2024

Over the last six years, Riverina Water has collaborated with South Wagga Rotary on humanitarian projects in Sindhuli and Banepa, Nepal.

The Sindhuli Community Technical Institute was initially established with the help of South Wagga Rotary and has been the site of a number of these projects. The Institute began with an intake of engineering students and has since expanded to offer nursing and other courses.

The global pandemic halted travel in early 2020, yet the partnership project resumed in 2023. The latest journey took place in April 2024, with Riverina Water staff members Fiona Smith and Ryan Thompson visiting Nepal, accompanied by twenty additional volunteers.

“Riverina Water has been a proud supporter of this project for a number of years and along with providing $5600 in funding to provide this unique experience to staff, we hope to again be able to host engineering cadets from Nepal in the future,” Riverina Water CEO Andrew Crakanthorp said.   

During their stay in Sindhuli, Fiona and Ryan dedicated two weeks to work mainly on the nurses' dormitory, finishing both painting and internal electrical installations. Once legislative processes are finalised the new nursing college will be recognised officially as a nursing school and students will be coming from across the region top study, making it essential that the dormitories are finished and habitable. Additionally, Fiona and Ryan worked on installing a pump, pipeline, and filter that spanned a small creek and extended 400 meters uphill. Their work means the school now has an accessible, reliable, and safe source of drinking water.

Fiona and Ryan both shared how thankful they were for the opportunity to travel to Nepal and to give back to the Sindhuli region. They acknowledged their admiration for Rotary and the range of projects they have worked on in Nepal over the years.

“As well as working at the Institute we were also able to visit some of the other schools that Rotary supports in the area, to say hello and supply them with books, stationery, shirts and other treats for the students,” Ryan said.

“It was great to engage with the locals, and the Institute staff and students were always interested in what we were doing. There were also regular afternoon volleyball/soccer sessions between some members of the group and some of the local kids.

“It was a fantastic experience getting to work over there, it has really given me a sense of how privileged we are to have good drinkable tap water here in Australia, and how lucky we are to be able to access top quality construction equipment, tools, and products.

“I am incredibly grateful to Riverina Water for giving me the chance to be involved in this project and would recommend any other employees take the chance if they can."