Bricks are fundamental in Nepal, where the construction industry demands cheap labor.
Brick builders spend 12-hour days bearing heavy loads to and from the stockpile and firing bricks in dangerous kilns. With every breath the workers inhale toxic particulates.
BYU’s annual global-health trips to Nepal evaluate problems and investigate solutions. This summer students working with Johns Hopkins University and Nepali researchers will collect data to help improve air conditions.
“The community loves to see foreign students working hand-in-hand with their Nepali peers,” says program director Steven M. Thygerson (BS ’98). “Students walk into the brick kilns and are embraced.”
