My name is Edward Tovar and in February 2025, I took a spiritual pilgrimage to India. What I encountered was a beautiful people with a rich culture whose commitment to spiritual practices left me both inspired and humbled. Unfortunately I also encountered extreme poverty that sadly, I had become desensitized to after seeing such things repeatedly in the media.

What I found exceptionally heartbreaking was that many small villages had no clean water to drink. Villagers often have to consume contaminated and dirty water that they fetch out of shallow wells. Sadly the contaminated water has been found to be the source for many common illnesses such as typhoid and malaria which plague the villages of India.

In my journey I was fortune to meet a gentleman named Ashok who has dedicated his life to excavating deep wells and installing pumps that can provide clean and sanitary water to people of the villages. Ashok has specifically concentrated his efforts on small towns around Bohdgaya which are mostly populated by women and children.

While the government will provide a hand pump, the bore is rarely deep enough (only 50-60 feet) so the bore is often dry within 1-2 years. Ashok’s team install a bore that is 120-140 feet deep so it lasts many years.

Over the last year Ashok has installed 5 pumps in villages within the Gaya District.

Approximate costs:

Boring machine (contractor): US$350 (including name plate)

Pump and materials: US$300

Administration, including contribution to village during drilling: US$50

Total: US$700

Each new well gives about 20 families (about 100 people) access to clean drinking water.

In my communication with him, all he has asked me for was a small donation towards helping him buy well pumps and to help him build a GoFundMe page. I made the small donation, and now I want to make good on building him (and the women and children of Bohdgaya) a GoFundMe page.

We are fundraising to build wells in small villages in India that lack access to clean water.

This fundraiser is specifically for Ashok, who has dedicated his life to this cause.

No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to this GoFundMe.