This transportation innovation has the potential be scaled worldwide and to boost school attendance for young girls, prevent maternal deaths via timely access to health centers, and connect farmers to new markets, thereby increasing and diversifying their incomes. Crossing rivers in Nepal can be a life-threatening endeavor. Every year, people haul themselves across fast-flowing rivers by cable ropeways and wire bridges.
Some, including young school children, get injured in the process. Others have lost their lives. In a village that I visited during my time in Nepal, people said that drownings occur every year during the monsoon floods. Helvetas has been fighting against this trend by promoting safe river crossing, resulting in significant increases in school attendance, health center consultations and farmer income for millions in rural areas throughout Nepal.
Though Nepal has its own tradition of indigenous bridge building dating back centuries, the systematic construction of trail bridges in Nepal began in Their usefulness was again demonstrated during the COVID pandemic when many were able to return to rural areas.
An average of new trail bridges are built each year in Nepal as part of the investment program of local governments. These bridges promote safety and save time: on average, a new bridge shaves three hours off of a roundtrip commute. Bridges often become an economic hub as well.
The construction of one bridge also injects life into the local economy, providing an estimated 2, days of paid labor for a community.
