• After hurricane Jeanne Pure Water for the World delivered about 300 Biosand Filters for families in Raboteau, a hot spot in Gonaives, Haiti. A year later we did site inspections and all families were still using their Biosand Filters. We visited two homes where the women showed me their new business. Now besides haveing safe water at home, they were also selling water in the market. Every morning they treated water and filled small plastic bags. These water bags were kept in a cooler and later sold for 2 Gourdes (about 5 cents) in the market or the street.

• After Hurricane Jeanne we also provided Biosand Filters to peasant families in Bayonais, north-east of Gonaives.  A  father from one family was always sick and went often to see a doctor where he received medication. His illness got to the point where his family was unable to afford the doctor visits. He heard about the Pure Water program and was able to purchase a Biosand Filter for his home for USD 5.00. Within a couple weeks of drinking the purified water,  his illness disappeared.

  One morning at 6:00am the now cured man (probably in the age of 60) knocked at our gate and gave us a list of close to 100 families anxious to receive Biosand Filters.  FYI … he had walked for three hours to meet with me that morning before I I left for work.

• In Lacroix there is a family with five children. The children had skin diseases and their parents spent quite a lot of money for them to see a doctor. Soon they were unable to afford to buy medication and the illness of their children persisted. Two years ago they purchased a Biosand Filter for 200 Gourdes (USD 5.00) and we recommended using the clean water not just for drinking, but also for cooking and bathing. After a month the children’s mother came to see my wife. She said a miracle happened - since she bathed her children with clean water the skin diseases disappeared.

• Pure Water for the World is providing schools in Cite Soleil (the poorest slum in Port-au-Prince) with Biosand Filters - one for every 50 children. Lately, during our principal meetings we have heard some funny stories. One principal claimed that he’s  more busy now providing safe water, because more and more students asking to take clean water home too. Another principal mentioned that now most students already show up at 7:00am to be able drink clean water, because they know to avoid drinking bad water at home.

Roman Cipus
Pure Water for the World

This year was the fourth year the club has hosted the Pure Water Walk and has gone from strength to strength each year.   Seeing a need to further the club’s international reach; a committee was formed in Glens Falls five years ago.  That was the year Ray Agnew was club President.

Ray fostered the formation of the committee which then lead to two club members travelling to Honduras to see Pure Water programs in action there.  Club Members Kay Walter and Ian Williams spent eight days travelling throughout Honduras observing the production and distribution of bio-sand water filters and the adminstration of the program offered by organizations like Pure Water for the World.

Impressed by what they saw; they immediately began to organize a relay-type fundraiser to raise money to fund a water project in southern Honduras.

That was 2006.  After funding the Honduran project; they saw a need for a similar involvement in Haiti.  Club member Charles Adams spearheaded the project from the Haitian end (he even moved to the nearby Dominican Republic) and Kay rallied the Rotary club again to put on a second Water Walk.

Not satisfied to stop there; the committee saw a connection between their work and that of the local Glens Falls Medical Mission. Perhaps the Medical Mission could use their help in Guatemala too!
The following year’s goal was to raise money to fund a Pure Water project in the Nueva Santa Rosa region of Guatemala where the Medical Mission had been working for over a decade.That would make a real Glens Falls impact on that region.

The Medical Mission’s work has included water-borne illness treatment.  The bio-sand filters provided by Rotary allow the Medical Mission to better combat these types of illnesses by eliminating their root causes.

The Rotary Club had already supplied water filters to tens of thousands of residents in both Honduras and Haiti ~ now it was Guatemala’s turn to benefit from clean, potable drinking water.
That brings us to the present year’s Water Walk…the fourth for the club.

On May 9th, the weather gods were again smiling on the Rotary Club.  The clouds had opened up the night before and further rain held off until after the event was over.  Scores of volunteers and over 200 participants made the day a fun one and a financial success.  Despite the economic downturn; the 28 teams who registered collected over $12,000.  With other miscellaneous donations and amounts still pledged; the amount could reach almost $20,000 according to organizers.

Added to previous year’s money raised; this brings the total to over $77,000 raised by the Rotary Club to fund Pure Water projects in three countries.

Added to this money raised through matching grants and money from Rotary District funds; the club can boast over $300,000 to date.

Rob, Jeff and I hiked up to one of these mountain-top houses to scope out the trail.  Arriving at the house we were all ready to put it off until the next day, when we could make a proper sling to carry the filters.  As I was speaking to Maria, a 39-year old mother of 11 children, I noticed the huge eyes of her youngest daughter.  I commented about how frail she looked and the mom immediately began to tell me that Digna has had diarrhea for the past 8 days.  She was so weak, she couldn’t even stand on her own and her skin had no elasticity because of dehydration.

I began telling the mother she should use SODIS (Solar Disinfection) until she can get a filter.  SODIS is when you keep a plastic bottle of water kept in the sun for 24 hours to kill all the bacteria.  Ironically enough, with all the plastic trash in this country this family was too poor to even buy a bottle of coke so there were no bottles to be found.  I rushed over to Rob and Jeff, my ears filled with the sounds of Digna howling, and told them, “We have to install this filter today!”.  Before I turned around to talk more with Maria the boys were already off looking for sticks to make a stretcher.   By the time I fetched Enelida and our buckets, the boys had already rounded up an army of help and had the filter harnessed to a stretcher.

The trail was not really a trail at all but a stream channel with a lot of big rocks. The best thing about this whole situation though was to see all the people who pitched in to help bring this filter to the family in need, which could not afford to wait another week.  We arrived at the top of the hill at their house to see Maria beaming at us and her new filter.  Enelida and I started installing the filter right away with our little army of helpers watching everything.  I almost felt like we were in an operating room “water, we need more water”, “bucket, dump this bucket”.   We finished up and said we would return in three weeks with the water jugs and to check up on how Digna was doing.

20 Days Later

Upon returning to El Recreo, I was very pleased to see Digna wobbling on her own when I entered their house.  This community is very fortunate, they have transportation that passes by about twice a day.  It is a small truck that makes the hour trip to the main road and from there to the health clinic.  Luckily, Digna’s mother was able to make the trip and get the medication she needed to save Digna’s life.  She had parasites, amoebas, and a urinary tract infection, most likely all caused by poor sanitation and dirty water.

The filters are not a cure but a preventative solution.  Now that Digna’s system has been cleared of parasites and infection, the filter along with the health education her mother received will reduce and potentially eliminate instances of gastro-intestinal illnesses.  That means children like Digna will have the strength and can get the needed nutrients to develop properly instead of  losing them to parasites.  In the long run, this will lead to an increased attendance at school because they are not home sick, they can pay attention and not be suffering discomfort, and hopefully from their improved education they will have better opportunities in life.  Reported by Rasa Siminkas Kent

These children have access to both this potable water and an education and thus can bring water and messages about the importance of clean water and hygiene home to their families—a key strategy employed by the project.

Pure Water for the World uses a bio-sand filter that is highly effective, inexpensive, and simple to operate (http://www.purewaterfortheworld.org/the-solution/). It can be made with locally available materials and produced in the country.

Unclean water carries bacteria and parasites that cause illnesses such as diarrhea—one of the primary causes of childhood illness and death in Haiti and many other developing countries.

Partners since the launch of the MSH-implemented Santé pour le Développement et la Stabilité d’Haïti (SDSH) Program, MSH and Pure Water hosted an event in the Cité Soleil slum in Port-au-Prince for the US Ambassador to Haiti, Janet A. Sanderson, in December. Ambassador Sanderson lauded the program for its successes and emphasized the importance of clean water for improving the lives and the health of children in Haiti.

Access to safe water is defined as an important component of the USAID latest public health project in Haiti, aimed at reaching nearly 50% of Haiti’s 8 million population with quality health care through a large network of 152 NGO-run and public sites.

Carolyn Crowley Meub, executive director of the nonprofit organization Pure Water for the World, Inc. (PWW), on her part, recalls what a woman once told her: Clean water is medicine; further adding, We cannot be healthy if we do not have access to safe drinking water.

Both approaches made for an unprecedented merger of efforts on behalf of Haiti’s children, in the form of a public-private partnership agreement signed on December 15, 2007, at the conclusion of an international water summit convened by the Rotary Club of Ption-Ville.

To help maintain good health and reduce water induced illnesses like diarrhea children’s number one killer in the country the project initial 12 months aim to first equip 450 schools and orphanages, [In Haiti] We will be reaching 200,000 children by providing filters through the schools as well as funding programs to teach sanitation and hygiene said Carolyn Meub at a Rotary fundraising in Glen Falls, New-York. Further, 41 health facilities and 150 homes in impoverished areas of 23 communes of the West, South and Grande-Anse (Southwest) departments of the country will benefit the use of water filter systems.

To complement the innovative technology equipment, over 800 animators including 30 technicians trained and certified will ensure correct utilization of the filters by their community beneficiaries. Students, their teachers and communities will become more knowledgeable about hygiene and sanitation.

The program using bio-sand filters was developed by US retired businessman and eminent honor-recipient Rotarian Charles Adams who has largely contributed to the cause of water quality issues in 3rd world nations. Adams represents a great asset for the USAID-PWW partnership program, which he is directing in person from Port-au-Prince, after leading realization of its successful model in Latin America like in Honduras.

Indeed, the simple to use bio-sand filters, main equipment of the project, of low construction costs and sturdiness, come with proven results of removing 100% parasites and 95% bacteria in common water. The filters have no moving parts and require no electricity explains Meub.

The ongoing construction of those filters using local material is providing new skills to locals in the area of the first selected schools to benefit from their installation at start of the next 2008 - 2009 school year. On the production site, skilled workers fabricate six filters a day, having reached well over 200 of them before the end of the current school year.

The USAID/PWW partnership, reaching local organizations in needy areas schools, health clinics and households, aims to save  kids’ lives and conveys the goal of USAID’s project to ensure stronger communities working for their own development and bringing stability to the Caribbean nation.

USAID-Pwoj  Djanm 3-year public health project and Pure Water for the World have formally engaged in a unique partnership with objective of bringing safe water innovative technology (using slow sand filtration process) to about 200,000 schoolchildren and school personnel, 41 health facilities and over 120 households in impoverished ommunities during its first year of execution.

Two years development field experience in project management of landfill and community livelihood projects; Organized and facilitated Solid Waste Management (SWM) conferences, bringing together community members, education facilities, NGOs and government agencies; Frequent job assignments requiring detailed and diligent monthly reporting to inform supervisors of site/project status; Six years experience of working abroad in multi-cultural environments; Knowledgeable in applying for grants and setting up transparent micro-credit programs at the local level; A project leader routinely tasked with motivating diverse groups of people to work together towards a common goal; Experience building rain catchment and spring-box fed level 2 communal faucet systems; Thirteen years of computer technical skills, proficient in Windows operating systems, MS Office, AutoCAD, Visual Basic, IT system networks and video/picture editing.

Water/Sanitation Engineering Consultant US Peace Corps, Kabankalan City, Philippines (January, 2004 to April, 2006)
Responsibilities:
Generally, my duties are to enhance local communities understanding and awareness of environmental issues related to the water cycle and proper water and waste management. Enhance the understanding and awareness of environmental issues related to the coastal ecosystem and water/sanitation. And increase communities capacity to sustainably manage their resources. My specific projects focused on Solid Waste Management (SWM) and watershed protection. As an engineering consultant, I advised the City of Kabankalan on sanitary landfill design and SWM development. Improving the existing infrastructure included refining collection routes, introducing Material Recovery Facilities (MRF), ending open dumping, and effective education campaigns. I then took up the citys denuded watershed issue. This required reducing illegal logging by introducing sustainable livelihood options and alternative fuel sources. Bridging the issues of divergent stakeholders was also essential. Some concerns addressed were vested interests, limited resources, fear of lost votes, aversion to risk, and transparency criteria.

Cable/Hydrographic Surveyor Thales GeoSolutions (Pacific), Inc., San Diego, California USA (July, 2000 to January, 2004) Formerly Racal Pelagos Corp. (June, 1997 to January, 1998)
Responsibilities:
Field engineer responsible for administering and participating in offshore survey field operations. Involved in researching, planning and preparing projects, I mobilized, tested and evaluated survey equipment. Collected survey data and verified its accuracy and quality, then processed and analyzed this data, presenting final AutoCAD charts upon job completion. Composed detailed procedures and job results for monthly and final project reports. Interfaced with client representatives (who mostly speak English as a second language). Supervised and trained project personnel on survey operations and software. I was the lead on-site representative for Thales on numerous international offshore projects. This involved the need for confident decision-making and an open-mind to foreign customs and perspectives. Daily responsibility for identifying problems and carrying out corrective action on jobs. Managed and evaluated new employees during their on-the-job training. Conducted in-house database maintenance and repair of past seafloor surveys.

Staff Coastal Engineer Moffatt & Nichol Engineers, Long Beach, California USA (January, 1998 to June, 2000)
Responsibilities:
Assisted with projects related to the design, construction or repair of airfields, roads, bridges, piers, ports, river sedimentation and dredging, wetland restoration, beach erosion, and retaining walls. Recorded field inspection notes and operated the level as the survey-party instrument person. Organized and presented data for client reports while performing engineering calculations from field inspections. Designed simple terrain levees with volume estimates and transport costs using ACAD Land Developer. Created maps, charts, and diagrams for engineering projects. As part of my fieldwork, I collected core samples for laboratory analysis and disposal planning. Assisted the inspector on construction projects for pier repair and wetland design. As a master diver, I inspected underwater instruments to determine extent of damage and deterioration. Prepared the templates for progress reports and construction estimates from preliminary data. Developed IT standards and maintained department computers.

Automation System Technician Control Management Systems, Rancho Cucamonga, California USA (January, 1994 to June, 1997) Responsibilities:
My primary duty was to install, program and repair building HVAC automation and control systems. This involved assembling computer workstations and installing computer operating systems. Laid out the animation and graphic storyboards for the visual HVAC control systems. Produced all the mechanical and electrical CAD drawings. Assisted with the mechanical engineering and generic programming of these systems. In the field, I would install the conduit and electrical wiring for VAV climate control boxes. Troubleshooting critical refrigeration units and control systems on site with the mechanical maintenance and replacement of HVAC heating and cooling equipment, which included 3-phase motors, centrifugal water chillers, gas-fired boilers, and cooling towers. I was also responsible for procuring and delivering needed job supplies to the necessary locations.

Education

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Class of 2000)
Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Minor in Ocean Engineering

Professional Certifications and Training

Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Certificate, completed March, 2006;
US Peace Corps cultural and technical training as a Wat/San Volunteer, completed April, 2004;
Small ocean-craft operator licence, obtained June, 1998;
NAUI Master Scuba Diver licence, obtained June, 1997;
Professional Engineer in Training (EIT or FE) Certificate, obtained April, 1997

July 2005 to 2006 Reservoir Engineer Esprit Energy Group, Calgary AB
Manage and optimize 7 oil fields and 6 natural gas fields in Alberta & Saskatchewan; Work closely in multi-disciplinary team of engineers, geologists and geophysicists; Identify and recommend drilling locations and recompletion candidates; Optimize production through enhanced oil recovery technologies (i.e. waterflood projects); Prepare and evaluate economics of potential future capital projects; Write and submit necessary applications to the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board; Evaluated assets for potential acquisition/disposition; Prepare and present annual operating plan to management for approval; Audit annual external reserve evaluations negotiate any discrepancies

Nov. 02 to Jul. 05 Reservoir Engineer in Training Nexen Inc., Calgary AB
Managed and optimized 3 primary heavy oil fields in Sask. and Alberta; Worked closely in multi-disciplinary team of engineers, geologists and geophysicists; Identified and recommended 12 drilling locations and 6 recompletions candidates - Doubled daily production of Westhazel field within 1 yr.; Project manager role for gas gathering project in Alberta; previously vented gas/d collected and sold; Prepared and evaluated economics of potential future capital projects; Evaluated assets for potential acquisition/disposition; Prepared and presented annual operating plan to management for approval; Estimated and reported reserves semi-annually Updated annual reserve binder for clear records

May 01 to Nov. 02 Facilities Engineer in Training Nexen Inc., Calgary AB
Managed costs and timing of surface facility projects for Sask. heavy oil fields - oil treatment facilities/storage tanks/ water, gas, oil flowlining etc.; Served as liaison between engineering and construction contractors; Worked with drafters to correct and maintain piping and instrumentation drawings; Modelled gas pipe flow processes using Hyprotech and Neotec software Ran pressure loss calculations to size pipelines; Developed cost estimating database for domestic operations; Worked closely in multi-disciplinary team of engineers, technicians and field operators; Travelled to field operations frequently

Education (As of Jan 2004)

Faculty of Continuing Education University of Calgary, Calgary AB
Apr. 2001, B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering College of Engineering University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon SK

August 2004 to 2006.
Exploitation Engineer for Suncor Energy, Inc. Heavy Oil Technology Group,
Identified value added opportunities for the Firebag resource development, defined the opportunities, and developed the business cases that justify pursuit of the opportunities. Initiated projects, acted as project sponsor and business owner during engineering design of the projects, coordinated C&SU planning, oversaw projects through to completion handover to the end-user. Managed several projects and engineering studies concurrently. Coordinated efforts from many different groups including Small Projects, Stage 3 Design team, Operations, Drilling, and H.O. Technology. Production Engineer for Suncor Energy, Inc. Firebag Operations Group

August 2003 to August 2004
On-site team leader for production optimization. Acted as the communication link between Calgary based engineering and management staff and field operations staff. Managed the day to day operation of 20 steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) well pairs. Developed procedures for the safe and successful startup and operation of SAGD wells. Trained the operators on these procedures. Provided guidance to operations staff on the day to day operation and optimization of the wells. Verified plant and well data integrity; responsible for daily production numbers and daily reports. Reservoir Engineer for Suncor Energy , Inc. Heavy Oil Technology Group

April 2002 to August 2003
Acted as Calgary based production engineer for an enhanced thermal solvent (ETS) pilot project. This included data collection, recording, presentation and analysis. Was part of the optimization team for the pilot. Managed a retrofit project for the ETS pilot plant. Ran reservoir simulations as part of a study on ES-SAGD (expanding solvent SAGD). Drilling Engineer for Suncor Energy, Inc. Firebag Drilling Group

January 2001 to April 2002
Acted as field liaison between field staff and Calgary staff. Provided daily reports from field activity on two corehole drilling projects and the SAGD drilling project. Developed and implemented method for field cost control. Managed logistics of running several rigs concurrently.

Education
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (December, 2000) University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

1968 to 1975
Mining exploration geologist in Western Canada, southwest U.S. (New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada), northern Mexico and Peru.

1976 to 1990
Planted and operated a commercial apple orchard at Argenta, B.C.. I also built and operated a saw mill, worked as a log house builder and did reforestation work, running my own contracting company with a crew of up to 40 people. I also did local mining exploration work.

1991 to present
Consulting work for the forest industry, mining industry and government ministries doing terrain (geomorphological) mapping, watershed assessment and restoration and bioengineering of unstable slopes largely in south east British Columbia. I also worked for about a year on a major pipeline construction project (Camisea) in the Peruvian Amazon and altiplano as a consultant/auditor on environmental and engineering geology issues Latin American Experience I took most of Grade 9 and Grade 10 in Spanish in Chile. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, I worked a year in Peru with shorter stints in Northern Mexico and in New Mexico, working primarily in Spanish. In the 1980s and 90s I traveled several times to Mexico and Guatemala including 2 weeks assisting on a rural development project in Guatemala in 1996.

In 2002 I traveled for 10 weeks in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. During that time I completed a summary of the geology of a small eco-reserve in southern Ecuador. In 2002 and 2003 I worked on a gas pipeline project in Peru for about a year in total and also reviewed a pipeline project in northern Ecuador most of my day to day work was in Spanish. I traveled a month in Bolivia in 2003 and did minor volunteer work in the altiplano on erosion control issues. In 2004 I traveled in Central America for 2 months with minor volunteer work on erosion control in Nicaragua.

Education

Prof. Association BSc.(Hons. Geology) and MSc.(Geochemistry) from Univ. of Manitoba, Canada
P. Geo. (Member Association of Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C.) and P. Ag. (Member of British Columbia Institute of Agrologists)

Community Participation
Among other involvements I have been president/director of Kootenay Lake Farmers Institute, Argenta Water Power Coop, the Kootenay Boundary branch of BC Institute of Agrologists and was a school trustee for 3 years. I have been active in a number of watershed protection groups and in land use planning with community, industry and government participation. I was active in a Kootenay area Central American Support group for 8 years, working mostly with Guatemalan refugees. I helped sponsor a Guatemalan refugee family who immigrated to Canada and also sponsored an Argentinian journalist who was a political refugee.

2001 - 2005 Hydraulic Engineer US Army Corps of Engineers
Design hydraulic and hydrologic components of stream restoration projects, participate in regulation of large reservoirs for flood control (Lake Washington, Howard Hanson, Mud Mountain, Wynoochee, Ross, Upper Baker and Libby Dams), coordinate weather and river forecasts during flood events with emergency personnel, perform water management studies on the Columbia River, lead geomorphic assessments for Western Washington River Basins.

Autumn 2000 Deterministic Systems, CEE 491 Instructor University of Washington
Taught 400 level engineering course at the University of Washington while doing post-masters
work. Lectured, wrote and corrected homework and tests.

Autumn 2000 Consultant, University of Washington
Consulted with Dr. Richard Palmer at the University of Washington on a drought study for the state of Georgia. Collected water supply data from the diverse metropolitan multi-county area, analyze existing drought plans, build water supply model for a virtual drought exercise. Attended meetings with utility managers and technicians to discuss how to appropriately simulate this complex system.

Jan-Jun 2000 Valle Research Fellow CESAR, Oslo Norway
Research with CESAR in Oslo, Norway. CESAR is a non-profit foundation that mediates and negotiates environmental and water resource conflicts between water scarce nations. Built and documented two water supply models, wrote modeling reports to convey technical information to policy makers, tracked hot-spot regions for political and environmental changes, reviewed international water compacts and prepared an advisory paper, assisted on an economic analysis of water supplies

1998-1999 Graduate Research Assistant University of Washington
Assisted in the development and implementation of a Puget Sound regional water supply model (CRYSTAL), prepared presentations on water supply planning and modeling, coordinated with others on the integration of multidisciplinary models (atmospheric, watershed, urbanSIM), and evaluated water resource planning options, data analysis and interpretation.

1997-1998 Assistant Civil Engineer CH2M HILL
Designed a 5-mile gravity sewer main through congested area with steep and shallow grade. The design involved numerous side sewer hook-ups, extensive microtunneled sections, and three stream crossings. Primary designer for two sewer force mains and one gravity sewer on a major road project. Coordinated design and construction schedule with dry utilities. Co-authored neighborhood sewer plan. Assisted hydraulic analysis for complex sewer system through steep slope, wooded area. Assisted with specifications, project management, coordination, construction support, site assessment, preliminary alternatives evaluation, design layout, and led drafting efforts for published documents.

Education

MS Civil Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, 1999, Water Supply Regionalization in the Puget Sound Region
BS Civil Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, 1996

Professional Registration

Professional Engineer, Civil Engineering, State of Washington, P.E. No. 38822 Member ASCE, AWRA.