Honduras Water Filter Project
On Thurs, Aug 13, 2009, six Rotarians (and a 15 year old future Rotarian) from Districts 5790, 5770, and 5890 flew to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to begin this year's trip with 3 objectives:
- Evaluate progress for Matching Grant (MG) 65785 (400 filters to be distributed in the Auca area).
- Evaluate progress for Matching Grant 65791 (190 filters near Auca and the first semi-modern agricultural activity in the history of La Mosquitia).
- Determine the location for the next set of filters from Matching Grant 69602 (400+ filters).
The first grant, MG65785 is completely distributed. Representatives from 7 villages made the long trip to tell us and thank us. All reports were positive on training and results, with only one or two villages reporting any level of illness. We personally visited at least 11 homes in Auca. All felt comfortable with the filters.
The second grant, MG65791 is in progress. All of the filters are in the field and should all be deployed in the next two months. Having the filters in this region will help agriculture crops such as corn, beans, and rice grow. Ninety percent of the villagers have been involved in the project. Crops should be harvested in the late fall and we can evaluate results then, but what we saw was encouraging.
MG69602 is planned for 450 filters at an average deployment cost of $80/filter. The team has identified 3 villages where the Water Filters should be distributed.
We don't feel that one area we will get full commitment from the local authorities to make this project a success, but we feel we need to move forward and give it our best shot. The needs are great and children are dying as a result of the lack of clean water. It will be an additional cost, to reach these areas, but it's important go get clean water there. This is in the Moccorron area, as well as Mistruk and Tipiraya.
Secondly, we need to be sure that the villagers are properly trained to maintain the filters. Two years after deployment in Rondin, all the villagers at our meeting reported they were properly maintaining their filters. The filters in and around Auca have not been deployed long enough need cleaning in most cases. We asked Andino of Aqua para el Pueblo to return in the future and review training with the villages.. He reported that they already planned to return for more training.
Overall, a successful trip. We met our goals, had fun, demonstrated service above self, and, once again, verified the tremendous difference Rotarians are making among the Mosquito Indians of Gracia a Dios.
Scott Hendricks is District Chair for International Service. He is a member of a member of the Rotary Club of Arlington. He can be reached by e-mail at: jscotthendricks@yahoo.com