Week #4 - A new country director

 

PWW took a big step this week by hiring our new country director, Gerardo Martínez.  We split the rest of the week working and driving between Santa Barbara and Choluteca.  In Santa Barbara, we met with the very enthusiastic Rotary club and were impressed to hear each member took their family to do community socializations on the weekends.   It was in Choluteca though that we saw one of the most rural communities to date, I'm sure the volcanic sand filters they use will be greatly appreciated there.    However, none of this success would be possible without the Rotary members and Peace Corps volunteers doing the groundwork.

 

 

Santa Barbara filters waiting for a home

 

A Santa Barbara Rotary meeting

 

Touring a filter installation in Santa Barbara

with the Peace Corps volunteers

 

Our new country director during his interview

 

A Choluteca filter installation and education session

 

After a bath at the local well

 

Peace Corps Megan Lan contemplating sand

 

Robert J Kent Jr- robjkentjr@gmail.com

Rasa Siminkas Kent- rsiminkas@gmail.com

Wat/San/Health Consultants

PureWaterForTheWorld.blogspot.com

Week #3 - Hitting the Road

 

We started this busy week off with solving our cement vibrator problem and doing some water tests.   David Stanley arrived on Tuesday and joined us for a community socialization.  The next morning we set out for Trujillo , which meant we had to circumnavigate pretty much the entire country to get there.  Thursday was spent gathering sand and unpacking filters from the shipping container.   We spent the rest of the week with the Reeses planning how to deliver filters to a remote coastal village.

 

One blue dot can keep you on the pot, e-coli (blue) and total coliform(red)

 

Pablo giving a socialization at the community of Coyolar

 

After 14-hours of driving

 

Our new sand source by the river, but not too close

 

1,000 plastic filters, 5,000 diffuser plates and 9 people who unloaded them

 

Introducing the filter to community leaders

 

Working lunch on the beach

 

Robert J Kent Jr- robjkentjr@gmail.com

Rasa Siminkas Kent- rsiminkas@gmail.com

Wat/San/Health Consultants

PureWaterForTheWorld.blogspot.com

Week #2 - Learning the Ropes

It's amazing how much an efficient operation depends on its procedures and how a small thing like the way you wash sand can make such a huge difference. This week, using a sand heavy with fines we installed 19 filters in two days versus 24 in one day when the sand was the proper size. After all the sifting, we took a day of rest and showed Don Mebus of Rotary International around. Then it was back to work constructing filters for the next three days. These guys turn them out like tortillas, 1536 delivered so far this year.

He is very happy to have a truck so he didn't have to carry all this

I am washing sand and it is very, very, very tiring

Don Mebus visiting the filter construction yard

I really wish the electric cement vibrator didn't break

Rasa patching a leaky filter with cement

Robert J Kent Jr- robjkentjr@gmail.com

Rasa Siminkas Kent- rsiminkas@gmail.com

Wat/San/Health Consultants

PureWaterForTheWorld.blogspot.com

Week #1 - We Arrive!

August 1^st marks the start of our time in Honduras working as volunteers for Pure Water for the World. Rasa and I started the week off by exploring Danlí, scouting out the restaurants and grocery stores for the best food. We also had to fetch Rasa's lost bag from the Tegucigalpa airport during the Teacher's Union protest.On Thursday, we spent a rewarding day in the barrio of Majada with Pablo and Victor installing 21 household filters. Friday we went mountain climbing with Jose and his 4x4 to take water samples from the slow-sand filter serving a community of 200 people.

With Rasa's mom as we prepare to leave JFK

Our standard meal, three times a day

The teacher's strike in front of Tegucigalpa airport

Rasa helping to pack a filter with sand

The community sand filter and view above Danlí

This weekly update of our time in Honduras is to show a behind-the-scenes view of what is involved to bring about a development project. I hope to share with you the rewards as well as the frustrations of such an undertaking.I would also like to document all the necessary local support and follow-up needed long after the installation has been paid for. From my experience in Uganda and the US Peace Corps, this sustainability is the most challenging aspect to achieve and very often, it is neglected as a result.

Rasa and I want to hear your feedback and questions regarding this project. We encourage you to please contact us or view this Blog at anytime to post your thoughts.

Robert J Kent Jr- PureWaterForTheWorld.blogspot.com