In today’s world where we have a never ending supply of tap water, cold and hot water in our sinks and showers, ice water from our refrigerator, timed water in our sprinkler systems, and bottled water in our stores it is incredible that 1.1 billon people lack access to clean drinking water. 1.1 billon! That is everyone in the United States times 5! What an outcry we would make if our state of Washington lost its clean water. What a tragedy to see our children die due to diseases caused by a lack of clean water. The nation, yes the world would take notice. Help would be on its way. The headlines would read, “Nine Million Washingtonians without Clean Water.” Why then do we stay silent at 110 Washingtons without clean water? If it is because the problem is too big and difficult lets break it down and make it doable and personal. If the statistic that 30,000 people mostly children die each week because of disease caused by lack of clean water is too abstract to act on let look at helping in a village of 22 families hat has an infant mortality rate of pushing forty percent.
A kitchen sink in a home with access to potable water. This is one of the better situations. In February ’08 I took a quick trip back to visit five of 9 villages without water behind Chel. These these following photos are from Los Encuentros a village of seventy families. The situation here is typical of most of these villages. The villages are set on a ridge with some but not a lot of land above them so it is not a naturally good situation to find water. There is no electricity and many needs in these communities who rely on subsistence farming to survive.
Open ponds and cistrens provide water for utilitarian needs.
A kitchen sink in a home with access to potable water. This is one of the better situations. In February ’08 I took a quick trip back to visit five of 9 villages without water behind Chel. These these following photos are from Los Encuentros a village of seventy families. The situation here is typical of most of these villages. The villages are set on a ridge with some but not a lot of land above them so it is not a naturally good situation to find water. There is no electricity and many needs in these communities who rely on subsistence farming to survive.
Open ponds and cistrens provide water for utilitarian needs.
The man in this photo is an active leader in the community. During a breakfast of Malaga, a starching root that grows wild and tortillas I listened to how his village was bombed during the civil war and all their crops destroyed. The only food source the army could not eradicate was the wild root Malaga so for two years this was their survival food. We talked about the water situation here where their only water source is collecting rain water.
He informed me that about 30% of the houses have one black poly tank to collect water. These tanks hold 1000 liters and cost about $250 dollars. They do not have a filter system nor do they seal the caps to these tanks. Both of these problems could be easily remedied but a family needs two to three tanks to supply themselves throughout the three month dry season. Even providing 50 families with one tank and a filter would cost $15,000. This would be a big help but is also a big expense for a Band-Aid fix.
He also told me that they have found a spring 2 hours away by foot. This spring is only large enough for half of the community and would cost around $18,000 to develop and pipe to the village for a community water source. Wells can be a risky venture because this area is remote making the cost of transporting a well drilling rig is prohibitive ,the depth of the water table unknown and there is no electricity for pumping. All of this information show there is not always an easy solution and careful study is needed to proceed in the best manner. It also demonstrates that the need of the people is great as they live on the edge of survival. With limited food and water their need cries out to our compassion. This year I am going to meet and study a way to assist this community hopefully in ’10.
Children of Xesayi with there school house in the background.
He also told me that they have found a spring 2 hours away by foot. This spring is only large enough for half of the community and would cost around $18,000 to develop and pipe to the village for a community water source. Wells can be a risky venture because this area is remote making the cost of transporting a well drilling rig is prohibitive ,the depth of the water table unknown and there is no electricity for pumping. All of this information show there is not always an easy solution and careful study is needed to proceed in the best manner. It also demonstrates that the need of the people is great as they live on the edge of survival. With limited food and water their need cries out to our compassion. This year I am going to meet and study a way to assist this community hopefully in ’10.
Children of Xesayi with there school house in the background.There are two communities with similar needs but easier solutions that I want to help first. One is Xesayi, home to twenty two families, one hundred and ten people. All the homes here have dirt floors including the school. This community is one of the three that received electricity in ’07 by building a small hydro electric facility. This project was funded by a green carbon exchange grant and is the first such project in Guatemala. This community has access to two springs and either one could be developed into a gravity system that would supply the village both now and for the projected future. The distance is not great, the water is clean, the system would be easy to construct and maintain. When I see a situation like this I tell myself let’s just do it. It is so simple and will give a gift of life this year, next year, ten, twenty, and thirty years from now. What could be a better investment? This year we have secured the rights of usage and passage for one of these springs and had an architect look at tank size and design. I hope to finish plans and budget in my first few meetings in Guatemala and proceed with installation. We are hoping to be able to keep this project under $10,000 with the village supplying labor and Seeds of Hope supplying material.
The other community that I have been invited to visit is Nuevo Puntos. It is another community of 22 families. This community is further back in the hills with the final leg of the journey being a half hour walk in. This community is a C.P.R. community that had organized against the oppression during the civil conflict. It’s only source of water is from collecting rain water. There is a spring three kilometers away that would serve the community with a gravity feed clean water source. I hope to develop a working plan and budget for this community for the next trip in’10.
The other community that I have been invited to visit is Nuevo Puntos. It is another community of 22 families. This community is further back in the hills with the final leg of the journey being a half hour walk in. This community is a C.P.R. community that had organized against the oppression during the civil conflict. It’s only source of water is from collecting rain water. There is a spring three kilometers away that would serve the community with a gravity feed clean water source. I hope to develop a working plan and budget for this community for the next trip in’10.
No comments:
Post a Comment