International Service-Honduras Clean Water Project

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Final Project Report - as sent to Rotary International

For earlier trip reports and other reports see bottom of this page.

Clean Water Project-  Santa Barbara Honduras 

Portland Rotary, in partnership with Freeport Rotary, Cape Elizabeth/South Portland Rotary and 18 other clubs have developed a project to provide clean drinking water to families in Honduras by providing a BioSand filter, one per household to remove virtually all waterborne diseases.

NO RURAL DRINKING WATER IS SAFE IN HONDURAS

In many of the homes of rural Honduras, there is no access to clean water. The children who drink this contaminated surface water get very sick. They suffer diarrhea and dysentery, and some die...

•50,000 children die from water borne diseases every year.

•80% of illnesses detected in Honduras originate in contaminated water supplies.

•78% of the rural population in Honduras depend on contaminated surface water.

Water treatment filters for these families can help this critical need for clean water, and we at Portland Rotary are working hard to bring clean and safe drinking water to needy families in Santa Barbara, Honduras.

PROJECT GOAL

Install 1,875 Bio-Sand water filters to provide sustainable potable water to homes in the villages throughout the region of Santa Barbara, Honduras. Working with local health officials, the project will deliver filters to serve 18 rural villages and provide clean water to over 10,000 people.

To achieve this ambitious goal, Portland Rotary and Freeport Rotary have spearheaded a group of Rotary clubs across the US and Honduras as well as attract funds from the Rotary Foundation  to raise to the total project cost of $163,000.

Portland Rotarians will be traveling to Honduras to encourage the project as it develops and to help the local people manufacture and install filters.  This will be a “hands on” project where the members who travel to Honduras will directly impact the lives of the people receiving the gift of clean water.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

How the Biosand filter works

The BioSand filter has no moving parts. It requires no electricity or chemicals, making it ideal for com­munities with few resources. It is effective in spo­radic usage. It utilizes centuries of proven results.

BioSand filter is low cost! Simple construction in-country with locally available materials. All-in-all, the slow sand household filter can and will make a measurable difference in family health and peoples' lives.

The BioSandFilter Removes

* 93% of Fecal Coliform.

*100% of Giardia.

* 99.8% of Crytosporium.

* 100% of Worms and Parasites.

* More effective than chlorine

Location of Santa Barbara in Honduras

HOW THE WATER IS CLEANED

Several factors determine the best approach to water purification in rural communities in coun­tries such as Honduras. Most significant among these are:

Cost, Villagers in rural third world countries can­not afford expensive techniques.

• Reliability, The purification system must operate for years with little maintenance.

• Power, The ideal system should not rely on exter­nal power or sunlight to function.

• Location. Extensive field experience has deter­mined that locating the water purification in the home produces the most effective results.

• Simplicity. Education of the consumer and fol­low-up monitoring by trained personnel are essen­tial to success. The simpler the system, the better the outcome.

Annual Report- 2008/9

  February 2008 Trip and Quarterly Report

   February 2007 Trip Report