Water Ambassador - Clean Water, Healthy Life

5,000 Metres of Pipeline Bringing Water to a Mountain School

Nestled in the mountainous commune of Khao Mang, Lao Cai Province, Khao Mang Ethnic Minority Semi-Boarding Lower Secondary School is a second home to 622 students, more than 95% of whom are from the Hmong ethnic community. Most come from poor or near-poor families and live at school throughout the academic week. For these children, water is essential to almost every aspect of daily life, from drinking and cooking to handwashing, bathing, laundry, and personal hygiene.

However, the school has long faced challenges in securing a reliable water supply. Of its four existing drilled wells, only one remains operational, and even that well produces very little water, barely enough to meet the needs of the school kitchen. As a result, providing sufficient water for drinking and students' daily activities has remained a major challenge.

To address this issue, the project introduced an alternative solution: bringing water from an upstream source to the school through a newly constructed pipeline stretching approximately 5,000 metres.

At the source, a water collection system was built to suit the local terrain. It includes a small weir to retain the flow, a collection pit, a debris screen, and a sand sedimentation tank to remove waste and sediment before the water enters a 700-litre storage tank. The surrounding area has also been reinforced with stone embankments and gabion structures to prevent erosion and help protect the water source.

From there, water begins its journey across the mountainous terrain towards the school. A new pipeline system was installed along the route, with vulnerable sections reinforced with concrete to protect against damage caused by difficult terrain and weather conditions. At the school, a storage tank receives and holds the water before an internal distribution network delivers it to different areas of the campus, including newly installed handwashing stations for students.

The construction has now been completed, and the system is officially in operation. It has enabled the school to manage water collection, storage, and distribution more effectively, reducing its dependence on the limited supply from existing wells. Students now have improved access to water for personal hygiene, bathing, laundry, and other daily boarding activities. These improvements contribute to a cleaner, safer, and healthier living and learning environment for all 622 students.

For children in remote mountainous communities who live at school to continue their education, a 5,000-metre pipeline is more than just an infrastructure project. It represents a journey bringing water across the mountains and into their school, so that every meal, every handwashing moment, and every day of school life no longer begins with the worry of water shortages.

Because sometimes, creating a better learning environment starts with something as simple and essential as ensuring that every child has access to water every day.