A Message from Carlos Herrera

Dear Colleagues, Friends and Family:

Since 2002, Herrera Environmental Consultants has worked with World Concern to build bridges in Tibet. We are currently working to raise funds to purchase the materials necessary to build three new bridges.

In the remote areas of Tibet where World Concern works, villagers live much of the year in complete isolation–cut off from the rest of their country by snow melt and wet weather in the Himalayas that turn seasonally passable creeks into raging, impassable rivers. Being isolated for months at a time means that villagers have no access to schools, markets for their goods, or medical help. Providing villages with a simple foot bridge greatly increases their standard of living, making it possible to send their children to school, sell their grain and livestock, and have access to doctors and hospitals.

We’ve included four photos from some of our recent bridge projects. The first (above) shows a young woman crossing a raging river the traditional way, by shimmying across a yak hide cable. (I also crossed the river on this cable!) The second (below) shows one of our bridges under construction. This bridge is located in Gyibu in southern Tibet near the Nepal border, and has a span of 60 meters over a 238 meter deep gorge. The final 2 pictures (below) show our completed bridge in Gyibu and another we built in Shoda, in central Tibet.

Here’s the way we go about our typical bridge projects:

First, we raise funds to buy bridge materials. All the money we raise goes directly to bridge construction. This year our goal is to raise $100,000, enough to construct 3 bridges. A typical bridge costs $25,000 to $35,000 in materials.

Second, World Concern staff in Tibet design the bridges based on previous designs developed by Herrera Environmental Consultants. Volunteers from Herrera review the design and work with the Tibet staff to adapt the design to the new location.

Finally, the villagers themselves construct the bridges, with training and oversight from World Concern Tibet staff and Herrera Environmental Consultants volunteers.

We’ve raised $35,000 so far, but we need your help to raise the remaining funds to reach our goal of $100,000. If you would like to help, please send a check to:

World Concern Tibet Bridges
c/o Carlos Herrera
Herrera Environmental Consultants
2200 Sixth Ave #1100
Seattle, WA 98121

All donations are tax deductible, and every little bit helps. Please make checks out to World Concern-Tibet Bridges.

Thanks for considering a donation. More importantly, please keep us in your thoughts, well wishes and prayers.