Pure Water for the World

As mentioned in the post below, I held a party for some of the children living in the tent camp at Parc Izmery in Delmas 33, Port au Prince. The party was terrific. The children were wonderful and to see the joy in their faces to have a day to just play and have fun was such gift. They managed to extract a promise for another party in August. Dieudonne came over and was wonderful with the children; he brought soccer and tennis equipment and is going to get jump ropes for the next fete. We all played games and ate PB and J, cookies, and drank Tampico (a Haitian brand of juice; like Kool-Aid) all afternoon.  The big hit was when I brought out a gallon of chocolate ice cream and made ice cream cones for everyone. Most of them had never had an ice cream cone before. There was nothing to clean up or put away because they ate every last crumb and drop and they even took home the containers. They all left together about 5:30pm. It was a perfect day.”    Noelle Thabault, MD-PWW Haiti

So I just got back from Matthew 25 guesthouse and a visit with the children at the camp. I am having a party for the kids on Saturday afternoon with ice cream, PB and J sandwiches and soccer.  The list is growing with intense negotiations for invites. I left the invitation list up to to Neika, an 11 yr girl and Petrov a 9 yr boy. It started with 6 and when I left it was at 14 and growing by the minute. Who knows where it will end up. It will be a great afternoon. I made them all gather before I left so they could repeat to me what time to come (trois heures) and not one minute earlier; what day (Samedi) and how to behave (Bien). And anyone who misbehaves (Va t’en!)”

Noelle Thabault- PWW- Haiti

“The lights are flashing, the electrician is here, the batteries aren’t working so even though the Electricite d’Haiti  (EDH) is on, since it’s going through the inverter and has nothing to charge, there are just little blasts of current getting through. The electrician is trying to figure out how to bypass the batteries; it’s sweltering… and I am afraid that my computer is going to crash with all these surges but I can’t unplug it because the battery is drained. Jean lost his keys again; he is worse than me with keys.  And we have this beautiful new generator that works great but we have no fuel. A perfect Haiti day. “

“The hell with it; I’m just going to have a drink and hope that the house doesn’t blow up.  Cheers.”

Monday, July 19, 2010.       Hello, I’m Jennie Kessler, a new volunteer for Pure Water for the World to be stationed in Trojes, Honduras.  This is the first of many blog posts that I will be writing this year to give a behind-the-scenes look at Pure Water’s projects in Honduras..

I’m already in awe of this country’s natural beauty, its cultural resources, and Pure Water’s operations.  I think I’m going to enjoy the year very much.

What I’ll be doing

Some of my major goals and responsibilities will be the following, though they may eventually be divided up with other volunteers:
•    Create a GIS (computerized map system) and printed maps depicting Pure Water’s work and related statistics
•    Help further develop the community training curriculum
•    Analyze water samples to measure the filters’ effectiveness
•    Analyze health data to measure the project’s impact

María hard at work in Pure Water’s Tegucigalpa office, which is actually in the twin sister city of Comayagüela.

I arrived in Tegucigalpa on Monday, July 12th, and have spent the week primarily getting oriented.  The two Tegus-based staff members picked me up from airport and we have been getting acquainted since then.  Maria Regina Inestroza is the Central American Director, and Oscar Armando Andino is the Assistant Director.  Both have been wonderfully friendly and patient.

The original plan was for Oscar to drive me straight to Trojes the next day, but heavy rains and mudslides rendered the road impassable, even washing out a bridge.  So I’m going to stay here in Tegus for a week so that I can put a good dent in the training curriculum with easy access to María, Oscar, and reasonably fast internet service.  I have worked on the community training curriculum for the last couple days and I think we’re off to a good start, with a solid concept for the content and format.  We also established the specifications and data sources for the GIS- computerized map system.

Oscar picks some mangos from the beautiful mossy garden outside María’s window.  The mango tree occasionally drops fruit on the roof (big bang).

Tegucigalpa at dusk.

 It has been exactly six months since the devastating earthquake in Haiti. That story is no longer in the headlines, yet for those living in Haiti there are constant reminders of that terrible day.

Haitians continue to suffer the effects of that catastrophic event. One and a half million continue to live in camps in road medians, fields and open areas. In tent cities, sanitation, latrines and proper hygiene are still major issues.  Many are dependent on water trucked in as their only source of clean water. Those who have lost limbs or were injured continue to suffer due to lack of medical care. To compound their misery, it is the rainy season.

Pure Water continues its work in Port au Prince, and more specifically Cite Soleil, providing water to 80,000 people daily. The filter factory is again operational and producing bio sand filters. The PWW schools program is underway and the staff is continuing to assess schools where previously installed filters were damaged and will be replaced.

Pure Water has been working with numerous other organizations since the earthquake. Many have approached us asking that we provide clean water and hygiene education to the orphanages, health clinics, hospitals, and schools where they are working.  This cooperative approach has opened many doors with such organizations as – Save the Children, UNICEF, International Rescue Committee, World Vision and others.

Our staff continues to work tirelessly.  Whether it is working in the field, in the filter factory, or caring for the neighborhood children, they have performed magnificently during this difficult time and we are extremely grateful for their dedication.

The need continues in Haiti – the crises did not end when the major television networks left. We would like to thank all of our donors who have given of their time and funds to help support our work. Without your generosity, many would be living without a basic human right we take for granted – clean drinking water. 

Children carrying water in Cite Soleil

The Berlin, El Salvador project, for which Pure Water for the World was a consulting partner, was successfully completed in late April, 2010. 1000 filters were installed thus providing access to clean water for at least 7,000 people.  The project, started in 2007, was organized around a cooperative funding effort involving The Rotary Foundation with matching grants from the Rotary Clubs of Highland, NY, Indianola, IA and San Miguel, El Salvador along with the Companeros of Iowa.

With the installation of the filters, many of those served had access to clean water for the first time in their lives. Hygiene education increased their understanding of its importance to their quality of life.  The project staff members were dedicated.  The experienced health promoters conducted hygiene education workshops throughout the communities.

Stephanie King from the Highland (NY) Rotary club said “This was a wonderful, collaborative project. We had the cooperation of Rotary Districts in the US, Rotarians in El Salvador, the Companeros of Iowa (a faith-based group of organizations in Des Moines, IA,) and, of course, Pure Water for the World.  We achieved our goal to provide safe drinking water to 7,000 people living in a very remote area of El Salvador.”

In addition to Pure Water, other organizations worked together to ensure that this project was successful-

• Highland Rotary Club, Highland, NY
• Indianola, Rotary Club, Indianola, IA
• San Miguel Rotary Club, El Salvador
• The Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology, Calgary, Canada,
• And many other individuals and organizations that were involved.

A completion celebration was held at the Casa Pastoral in Berlin, El Salvador. Many recipients from the small settlements in the Berlin area attended the celebration to share how this project, with access to clean water, has impacted and changed their lives.

Pouring water through the filter