Our Project

The region we are in is one of the poorest in all of Asia. With limited electricity (we have only had a total of two hours today thus far, and I am writing this at 7:00 in the evening) it is quite cold inside as well as outside. Other downsides of life here include the fact that food and water are often filled with extra lovely bacteria that don’t just make our stomachs sick, but also the locals when they consume something that is ‘foreign.’ The languages can confuse people, as there are three primary languages used here, and the main language is not even a written one. There is no running water indoors, which means the use of outhouses – (a new adventure in and of itself!) Terrible wars in the recent past, massive drug trades around the area, corruption, as well as limited natural resources make this a tough place to live. The average family earns less than $1000 per year. That is per family! Jobs are not generated here very easily, other than hard labor. Although buildings and structures get very cold here during the winter, and more than 70% of the population is living in poverty, the people themselves are very warm and welcoming. Lindsay and I have been humbled by the generosity we have seen.

Surprisingly, literacy rates are very high here and education is a priority for men and women. Perhaps more surprisingly, the priority for education is geared towards girls over boys. There seems to be a lot of wisdom in that priority in the developing world. Needless to say, however, education does not have the same standards here as it has in the U.S.

Lindsay and I are focusing on solar power as our main humanitarian project. The one natural resource that is plentiful here is the sun. Additional to the challenges of life listed above, the harsh climate and mountainous terrain make life difficult for the people living here, and only six percent of the rocky land is arable. Of this small percentage of arable land, yields from farming and other agricultural pursuits have been minimal due to the arid climate and limited resources for irrigation. Our project is to help the local people pump water from nearby rivers onto the limited land for increased agricultural production using solar panel technology.

We are so fortunate to have this opportunity, even with its many challenges, to help make a difference in the lives of our fellow human beings half a world away from our normal comfort zone.

God bless