Just 36 miles south of Mount Everest lies the small Nepali district of Waku in Solukhombu. Bordered by the steep valleys of the swift flowing Dudh Kosi and Hinku Drangka river, this beautiful place is home to around 8000 inhabitants. While the rugged geography may be beautiful, it also presents the village with difficulties. Waku still lacks basic amenities such as proper accessways to towns and cities, health facilities, and reliable power.  

One such institution facing the brunt of these problems was the Waku Health Center, built by Action for Nepal with funding from the Australian Himalayan Foundation (AHF), One Heart Worldwide (OHW), and the local Nepali Government. Primarily used as a birthing center for expecting mothers, the health center was often not able to function at full capacity due to the lack of reliable electricity. Facing intermittent power cuts, often at night, meant that emergency care was hindered, safety levels lowered, and babies were being born in poor lighting conditions.

The Solar for Health project, funded by the AHF along with K&A Engineering Consulting and implemented by Action for Nepal, was recently successful in installing ten solar panels on the roof of the Waku Health Center that provide 7 KiloWatts of power. The hospital is bright now, well-lit with the solar energy saved throughout the day, and functional every night. Children are now being born under the safe glow of LED lights that ensures safe arrival into their new lives.

Ms. Nirmala Rai, the health post in-charge, is ecstatic: “Having reliable solar power 24 hours in health center has completely changed our health center, it has helped us to provide health service more effectively. We are now able to provide health service even at night for emergency cases. This support has not only provided us the electricity, but also helping us to ensure that every child born in our health center will be born in a safe condition.”  

Such stories are the reason why we began K&A Cares, it is our way of making sure that we were able to give back to the communities that give us so much.