Our Story

How it all began …

WaterAid, a UK charity officially came to Nepal in 1986 in collaboration with the Social Service National Coordination Council (SSNCC) currently known as Social Welfare Council (SWC), an umbrella organization of I/NGOs in Nepal. For WaterAid however, the bureaucratic procedures and controls from SSNCC were a stumbling block in the way it wanted to function and expand. Then finally, after the restoration of democracy in 1990, registration procedures of various groups such as trade unions and civil society organizations were made much easier. This was sought as an opportunity for the then coordinator Umesh K. Pandey to start a new NGO and he brought it in discussion with other 25 staff of the project.

The outcome was that for the sustainability and accountability of their work, it was very appropriate to move further and start a new NGO and get out of the SSNCC grip. This idea was fully backed and supported by Jon Lane, the WaterAid Country Representative, who assured that WaterAid would continue to fund this NGO and will also help to bring other donors on board. Umesh K. Pandey also started mapping the NGO's long-term vision in terms of its roles and expansion to reach many more rural and marginalized communities that were deprived of WASH services in Nepal. The whole idea was led by Umesh K. Pandey with support from Jon Lane and other six invited individuals from different walks of life working in and around WASH who agreed to be a part of this campaign as Founders and gave birth to Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) on July 30, 1992. WaterAid’s commitment of support to NEWAH further continued in the leadership of Greg Whiteside, Alan Etherington, Sanjay Adhikari and Ashutosh Tiwari from 1992 to 2018.

Founding Members

1.         Mr. Umesh K. Pandey

2.         Mr. Hari Bhakta Adhikari

3.         Mr. Ajaya Dixit

4.         Ms. Vijaya Shrestha

5.         Dr. Narayan Narsingh Khatri

6.         Mr. Rajendra Shakya

7.         Mr. Govinda Kumar Chhetri