Photo: Kathy Fang, grade 11

At yesterday’s school meeting, Zachary Wong ’19 was presented with The Forgotten International’s 2019 Compassion Award for his work bringing water to impoverished regions of Nepal via the nonprofit organization Water In Nepal, which Wong founded and runs with other California high school students.

Founded in 2007, The Forgotten International works to alleviate extreme poverty around the world, especially for women and children, by supporting community organizations it believes will have the most impact.

Wong traveled to Kathmandu, Nepal, in December of last year to help construct a sedimentation tank for the village of Patlyachaap. The sedimentation tank filters out sludge that builds up in water sourced from a pond near the village and is expected to last up to 100 years.

After being presented with the award, Wong thanked his parents and teachers and reminded the students to “remain kind, remain compassionate, remain grounded.”