ADAWA

MAKING WAVES IN GUATEMALA

 

We're determined to provide every ADAWA community with access to a safe, reliable source of water. 

 

In developing countries, 1 in 5 deaths under the age of 5 is caused by a waterborne illness. 2,195 children die daily from diarrhea- the equivalent of 32 school buses full of children. What’s the main cause of diarrhea in the developing world? You guessed it- contaminated water. 

 

While most children and adults who contract a waterborne illness survive, the effects are felt throughout the community. Older children suffering from these illnesses miss school, and adults lose days of work and desperately-needed income. Women spend hours each day finding and preparing water for consumption and household use.

 

We aim to build a public well at each of the regions’ 34 schools, and put an Ecofiltro water filter in every home. Wells ensure that kids no longer have to drink water from rivers contaminated with fecal matter and pesticides at lunchtime, and that each community has a well for public use. Filters ensure that the water they drink is 100% safe for consumption and will no longer put them at risk for contracting waterborne illnesses.

 

We're also improving sanitation and educating our communities surrounding the roles water and hygiene play in health and nutrition. To ensure our youth form lifelong healthy habits, we're training teachers to promote healthy hygiene in their curriculum.

April's Health, Hygiene, and Sanitation workshop focuses on training community leaders to disseminate the information across ADAWA's 34 member communities.

 

In keeping with our commitment to promote collaboration and teamwork throughout the region, communities that have already built wells send a team to train and assist the next community that receives the funds for their own well. Leaders of women's group leaders in participating villages also serve as Ecofiltro's community liaison, responsible for collecting payments and communicating with the company.

 

Communities, like the individuals that make them up, cannot thrive without access to water. Healthy communities that aren't fighting to survive preventable illnesses have the energy and attention to devote to their own long-term, sustainable development.  Our communities want to- and we want to make sure they're able.