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Spring Appeal: Phuntsok drinks water every day from a polluted water supply

Phuntsok is a bright student who loves school and wants to be a doctor one day. But for the last few months, Phuntsok has been constantly ill and unable to attend school. The tap water he drinks every day is making him sick – and it’s the same for many of the 250 residents in Gapa Tibetan settlement.

Located just below the Himalayan mountain range in north India, Gapa should benefit from fresh, clean mountain water. But this is not the case.

Limestone mining in the area has polluted the tap water for more than five decades. The state government has now shut down the limestone mines, but the water table has been permanently damaged.

Most people in Phuntsok’s village can’t afford to drink anything other than the same contaminated water supply which made him ill.

Will you help us install a water filtration system and give Phuntsok and his neighbours clean water?

Clean water is a basic human right. Without it, people get sick and can’t go to school or work, at huge cost to their families and their futures. The Tibetans in Gapa will remain trapped in poverty unless something changes.

Tenzin Choedon, settlement officer, says: “Phuntsok is a very sharp student who is always eager to attend class – he loves studying and spending time with his classmates. But now he spends most of his time at home because of constant sickness caused by drinking the tap water.”

By cleaning up the water supply, you’ll be helping children like Phuntsok go to school and achieve their dreams. Families will have more financial stability as parents won’t have to miss work or pay hefty medical bills. Tragedy will be avoided as fewer people die from waterborne illnesses like cholera and typhoid. The difference to their daily lives will be huge.

Please give what you can today and help Phuntsok and his neighbours thrive with a safe, clean water supply!

I would like to donate £16
I would like to donate £32
I would like to donate £64

We need to raise £2,000 to install the new filtration and water storage system – anything you can contribute will help. Thank you!

Notes

  • In India, over 100,000 people die each year of water-borne diseases
  • 94% of Tibetans living in India drink tap water because they can’t afford to do otherwise
  • Children and elderly people are more vulnerable to water-borne diseases because their immune systems are not as strong
  • The water filtration system we are fundraising for has been tried and tested in 24 other sites so far. The system filters water using reverseosmosis and ultraviolet methods, and a 500 litre storage tank is also installed to provide an emergency water supply in the event of a water shortage.

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