Pure Water for the World

Friday, August 27, 2010

By Jennifer Kessler- Honduras

Last week, the “norteamericano” population of Trojes jumped from 1 to 5, with the visit of a group from the U.S. and Canada.  Jim Barker and his daughter Sarah came to photograph Pure Water’s work, joined by Carolyn Meub, Pure Water’s executive director.  Camille Dow Baker, CEO of the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST), also visited.  The health promoters enjoyed showing off their work, and I think the visitors enjoyed the trials and splendors of Honduras as well.

Jim and Sarah Barker took photos

Jim and Sarah were in Trojes Aug. 17-21, and took some great shots soon to be featured in Pure Water’s publications.  Jim is a professional photographer and marketing consultant from Vermont, and Sarah is a nursing student at Johns Hopkins.  This was her second trip to Honduras and her excellent Spanish came in very handy.  They photographed two hygiene training events, filter installations, Oscar’s “Dirty River Tour” of Tegucigalpa, and everything in between. 

As they pointed out, having strangers come into your home to take pictures can be a bizarre and invasive experience, so photographing development projects is often tricky.  But through friendly greetings and respectfully asking permission, they managed to put their subjects more at ease. 

 Carolyn and Camille gave us helpful feedback

Carolyn and Camille visited Trojes Aug. 18-20, before heading back to Tegucigalpa to finalize a new partnership between Pure Water and CAWST.  Based in Calgary, Canada, CAWST is a technical consulting organization that advises on filter manufacture and operation, and also provides many of the training materials we use in Pure Water.

Their first day, both Carolyn and Camille observed a training event, before splitting up the next day.  Carolyn led a random check of homes that already had filters installed, while Camille accompanied the group installing filters in Los Cedros.   Both of them left the health promoters and me with valuable feedback we will use to improve the project.  For example, Carolyn shared ideas to make future training sessions run more smoothly, and Camille offered us some ways to improve the filter installation process.  Carolyn also gave us direction on information we can gather to fundraise for projects in additional communities that have requested filters.

Arlen, Sarah, and Ostilio take in the panoramic view of Trojes on the way back from Los Milagros Aug. 18.  With such a large group, many of us ended up riding in truck beds a lot.  Jim and Sarah were great sports despite the jarring and sun.

Jim hikes through a jungle of sugar cane and cattle fodder to reach a remote Los Cedros house where Fredy and Karla would install a filter, Aug. 19

Fredy leads the delighted students of Germania in a hygiene knowledge game during the training session Aug. 20.  Lucky for photographers Jim and Sarah, the day’s sunny weather provided nice lighting. 

 The shutters flutter during hand washing practice in Germania.

In Tegucigalpa Aug. 22, Camille and Carolyn sign an agreement to establish a new Water Expertise and Training Center in Honduras. Paul Earwaker, an international technical advisor with CAWST, Maria, and Oscar had helped develop the plan.  Photo by Oscar.

Friday, August 27, 2010

A center, dedicated to teaching water, sanitation technologies and hygiene promotion in Central America, took a large step forward when The Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technologies (CAWST) and Pure Water for the World (PWW) signed an “Agreement of Cooperation” in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on August 21, 2010.

CAWST, the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology, is a Canadian not-for-profit engineering consulting organization providing education, training and technical consulting in water and sanitation to organizations working with the poor in developing countries. CAWST developed the Water and Education Training Center (WET Centre) model to reach and train more organizations who are interested in improving the quality of water and sanitation in their communities.

The proposed WET Center will serve as a catalyst for the development of new projects and for the improvement and growth of existing household water treatment, hygiene, sanitation and domestic rainwater harvesting projects in Central America.  CAWST has had considerable success with WET Centers in Zambia, Nepal and Haiti and are pleased to have a center planned for Central America.

Key services of the WET Center will include conducting training workshops for local organizations and governmental entities, providing consulting services to clients, conducting research on projects, providing water quality testing, and increasing the awareness of water issues among the youth and women groups.

In announcing this agreement, Carolyn Crowley Meub, Executive Director of Pure Water for the World, Inc., stated “CAWST is the leader in mentoring and training organization for water projects. We have used CAWST materials for years and we value their contributions to the improvements of the bio sand filters.  We are a better organization because of these contributions. When we combine their expertise and “our boots on the ground” success with implementing projects, this is a perfect partnership. We are truly excited about becoming partners with them.”  

For more information on CAWST please visit their website- www.cawst.org

Thursday, August 26, 2010 

The ink is dry on a contract between International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Pure Water for the World (PWW).  The partnership provides a package of water, sanitation and hygiene services to schools and health clinics in Léogâne, Haiti which was hard hit by the January 12, 2010 earthquake.  This project will reduce the vulnerability of children, women and adults by reducing the causes of water borne diseases including diarrheal disease, malaria and respiratory infections for children and their families. 

A community assessment conducted by both parties in May 2010 found that 70% of the schools assessed had no access to potable water and the remaining percentage of schools had open wells. Those schools which had latrines had no means to clean the structures, and there was no reported hygiene promotion in schools. To correct the situation in schools and health clinics, PWW will install filters, construct rainwater harvesting systems, repair wells, and provide hygiene promotion to 20 schools and12 hospitals. IRC will construct latrines and build facilities to handle medical waste. A critical aspect of this project will be to form and train ten community committees which will then have the appropriate tools to maintain the program.  These committees will be responsible for maintaining the water systems and latrines as well as to reinforce the hygiene education.

Léogâne, a coastal city about 18 miles west of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince and an important contributor the country’s economy,  was at the epicenter of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. United Nations assessment team found that Léogâne was “the worst affected area” with 80 to 90% of buildings damaged and no remaining government infrastructure. Nearly every concrete structure was destroyed.  The damage was also reported to be worse than the capital.

Founded in 1939 at the request of Albert Einstein, IRC responds to the worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. For more information, check www.theirc.org

Pure Water for the World has just announced an upcoming vacancy
in Haiti. Information about the Country Director position is available through
info@purewaterfortheworld.org. To be considered, applications must be
received no later than August 31, 2010.

Monday, August 16, 2010

By: Jennifer Kessler

One of my main jobs here in Trojes is to make maps of Pure Water’s work.  This has been a fun and intriguing endeavor for the promoters and me over the last few weeks.  The primary purpose is to show where filters are or will be installed, for grant applications and the like.  Hopefully the maps will also be useful internally for planning.

Basically, the process for making the maps is this:

1. We take coordinates in the field using our two hand-held GPS units.  It only takes a few seconds to record a point, so this is mainly the promoters’ job while they’re visiting homes for their other work.  They’ve quickly caught on to operating the units and taking good field notes.  (Thank you, Garmin company, for providing a Spanish language setting!)
2. Back in the office, I download the data from the GPS to the computer, enter the field notes, and load the data into the mapping program, ArcGIS.  I’m currently testing a simpler way to do this so the promoters can easily do it themselves. 
3. I manipulate the data in ArcGIS to tie in with other project records and display correctly on the map sheets.  This is a complicated process and is pushing the limits of my GIS and programming knowledge.  It’s at times frustrating, at times very rewarding as I learn new techniques and spend my evenings reading the help files. 

 Arlen and Fredy are particularly interested in the maps we’re generating and like to watch over my shoulder as more and more houses and roads appear.  Still, it will be a many weeks before we have coordinates for every house, as there are some 500 houses for Pure Water’s projects in 2009 and 2010.

Here is a draft map of Trojes showing most of the communities where Pure Water is working.  As you can see, many communities are far from our base in Trojes, exacerbated by the condition of the roads.  The houses themselves are also scattered far and wide in many cases.  That’s why the promoters have so much driving and hiking to do. 

Mirea records a waypoint.

Many communities have already made their own schematic maps, which typically hang in the school.   This one is from Samaria.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

By Jennifer Kessler

At first glance, it seems fairly easy to provide water filters to families here in Honduras.  They’re just like sandboxes that filter water, right?  This week, I’ve been learning that in reality, it takes extensive preparation and follow up to make the project truly effective and sustainable.  Fortunately, Pure Water has a wonderful team of six health promoters based in Trojes who do the field work.  I’ve gotten to tag along on a several outings so far to watch them in action.

 The promoters’ activities include the following:

• Introduce the project to leaders and the public in each community
• Conduct a census and collect baseline data
• Hold multiple training sessions on hygiene and filter operation with community volunteers, adults, and schoolchildren
• Collect each family’s payment towards its filter
• Deliver the filters and media
• Commission each unit, working with community volunteers
• Troubleshoot problems that arise such as plugged media, again with the volunteers
• Work with health clinics to administer parasite medication
• Follow up to resolve any problems
• Collect final data

 The promoters are divided in two teams, although they work together closely. Arlen Mejía, Fredy Rodríguez, and Karla Vargas comprise one team.  Mirea González, Renán Mondragón, and Ostilio Ramírez began work in June to serve three additional communities, funded separately through the Rotary Club of Trinity, Florida.

Renán and community volunteer Juan Ramón Chávez install a filter in Boca de Español on July 30.  I’m still acutely feeling the inadequacy of my Spanish, but the promoters are well-educated, native Trojeños who easily communicate with residents.  They’re also quite the troupe of comedians.

Arlen climbs back up to the truck after installing a filter in Los Cedros, July 23.  Strenuous hikes and long, bumpy, muddy truck rides are a basic part of the job.  The tropical sun is scorching and it usually rains on us in the afternoon too.  New as I am, it feels like a vacation in paradise, but I’m impressed that the promoters stand up to the bruising day in and day out.

Mirea talks to school children in El Súbico about personal hygiene, Aug. 4.  As usual, later in the day the team gave another presentation tailored for the adults. 

Karla takes down a resident’s information in Samaria, May 4.  Back in the office, the promoters enter the data they collect into tracking and monitoring spreadsheets.

Freddy and a community member prepare to deliver a filter in Buena Vista, May 19.  Many homes are not accessible by road, so the promoters and community members move the filters the rest of the way on a dolly or suspended from a pole that two people can carry.

Ostilio and Arlen attend a training event in Danlí, July 27-28.  UNICEF sponsored the event, which equipped us to promote gender equity in water and sanitation projects.  A dozen staff from SANAA, the national water and sewer authority, also attended.  We will be using the techniques we learned to improve the attendance of women in Pure Water’s training sessions and their representation among the community volunteers.

DOW has donated two Mobile Water Treatment Systems to the people of Haiti, care of Pure Water for the World.   Pure Water is reconnoitering sites for their placement, arranging the logistics and seeking partners.  These filters will be able to take contaminated, slightly brackish water and make it drinkable.  Each filter will produce between 5 and 10 thousand gallons per day.  These filters are expected to arrive in early September.

Click here to see the photos of the DOW containers and contents to be shipped

August 5, 2010

By Jennifer Kessler

I’ve been in Trojes for almost two weeks now and I really like it.  The mountains are stunning, and I’m going to be spoiled with highs in the 80s year round.  The people have been tremendously kind and hospitable.  The livestock and cicadas make a nice lullaby in the evenings, and the roosters are a good alarm clock. 

 Trojes is home to about 20 thousand people, plus many cows, horses, donkeys, chickens, and dogs.  Renán Mondragón, one of Pure Water’s health promoters, graciously gave me an impromptu tour.

Shops and small businesses are scattered throughout town but are most dense along Main Street.  They sell a variety of household items, food, and hardware.

The residents built a new central park in 2007-2008.  A civil engineer from Trojes designed it and it was built with local labor.  The adjacent Catholic church with its bright green roof was built at the same time with funding from the Spanish international development agency.

This statue of a cow and the coffee plant behind it represent the main economic activities of the region.  Some prankster gave it an apron for a hat.

I’m living in an apartment in the home of Lupita Mendoza, on the outskirts of town.   There are horses in the front yard, cows to the side, and sheep in back.  Music drifts up from the valley on the cool breeze (along with the rich perfume of cow dung).  Love it.