Spring of Life

The Huai Num Dip village water project was implemented in part by young adult volunteers from Victoria, Australia. They undertook this as part of their service to Thailand prior to attending the World Youth Congress last year.

The ADRA project team along with a group of 40 Australian volunteers and help from the local village people completed the work of laying water pipes in Huai Num Dip village in Chai Prakan District. Like many villages, it did not have clean and hygienic water to use and drink, and locals suffered from various skin diseases and stomach ailments.
The volunteer work was carried out at the north-eastern clean water and health project in Chiang Mai Province. The Aussies, led by Ariana Albert and Steve Kane, spent five days and four nights at the primitive village helping prepare the groundwork and lay the water pipes. Enduring more than 15 hours of travel to reach Huai Num Dip village, the group experienced their first taste of a local meal before getting straight into the work.
Each volunteer walked three kilometres to the top of the mountain where the natural source of spring water was located. They dragged with them long black water pipes. Once at the top they connected and glued the PVC pipes, dug holes, cleared away bush land for a track and even dug a few extra steps for a better foothold on the slippery and steep mountain.
Assistance from the lively young Victorians helped speed up the project, and before they left, the villagers were able to have clean water flowing from a freshwater source through taps located right outside each home. In less than three days, the clean water, which the villagers had once thought would be impossible to access, slowly trickled out through taps before turning to a constant strong flow of water.
ADRA–Thailand says thank you to these dedicated young Australians who gave up their time and adventured to a remote area of Thailand for such a development project. The people of Huai Dip village were deeply appreciative and grateful for their help and time.