Clean Water for Santiago Atitlán
Living so close to the Great Lakes has meant that I have never had to wish for a clean glass of drinking water.
THE NEED
One of the greatest barriers to good health for people in Guatemala is the contaminated water supply. Bacteria in the water, combined with malnutrition in general, results in a 5% mortality rate among indigenous populations for children under five.
There are two main ways that Guatemala Service Projects has worked to bring clean water to the communities we serve: water filters and potable water projects. Potable water projects such as the one in Chujupen provide permanent relief to whole communities. They require maintenance, of course, as pipes break and need repair on occasion. And, they are very costly, usually several hundred thousand dollars and sometimes over a million. The idea of taking on a project like that is overwhelming for a young nonprofit like Guatemala Service Projects, yet we have risen to the challenge!
THE SOLUTION
A more easily attainable goal is the gift of a family-sized water filter that affordably and quickly improves water quality one family at a time. With the help of our project manager in Guatemala, Diego Xirum, we are able to bring these life-saving filters to the homes of people at risk. Diego also happens to be the Guatemala regional manager for TivaWater, meaning that he has the highest level of knowledge and accessibility for the filters that we provide.
The TivaWater 2.0 water filter uses sand as the primary filtration method and there are no expensive parts to replace. Maintenance of the filter is easy and the filtered water is pleasant to drink. After installing a filter, families joyfully report that the water is tasty, it is easy to use, and that they notice fewer instances of diarrhea and health issues.
Each water filter costs $110. Our goal is to plan for the delivery and set-up of water filters in batches to minimize transportation logistics and to coordinate group training presentations on how to use them. Recently, Diego coordinated the delivery of 32 water filters to Santiago Atitlán.
THE PROCESS
The filters were picked up at the warehouse in San José Pinula and then delivered to Santiago Atitlán.
Jose Miguel Yllescas Juarez and Maritza Ovalle received training from Diego on how to set-up and maintain the filters. They also had identified families in their community that would benefit from them.
Here, Maritza demonstrates proficiency of the training Diego provided.
While all of the transportation and training of the water filters was done on one day, Jose Miguel and Maritza spread out the disbursement to individual families in the days that followed, to allow them time to assemble and package food donations to accompany the water filter! Here are photos of just some of the families that received.
YOU CAN HELP!
You can protect a family from waterborne contaminants and save a life! To donate a water filter, please visit our donation page.
The “right” opportunity arose when I learned about a travel opportunity for adoptive families which would include volunteer work and cultural sightseeing. Being members of that team had a profound impact on me, Lillian and Andrew. Not only were we able to make a real connection to our son’s birthplace, but we met incredibly warm and generous people, all of whom we now consider to be a part of our “family.” In addition to the volunteer work I shared with the Team, I also was able to “give back” by performing as my alter ego, “Farfel the Clown” at a barbecue for children of The Backyard School. It will remain one the proudest and happiest memories of my life.