GUATEMALA PROJECT UPDATE
George Gerhard, Dave Renfrow, Mark Rohweder
September 2021
Three of us traveled to Guatemala and were in country from April 30 through May 9, during which time we visited the three projects currently being undertaken. I was honored to be able to represent our coalition clubs and to meet personally with the communities who will be the recipients of clean water, some who for the first time will be able to drink a glass of water without fear of dysentery. The children in particular are extremely vulnerable and both their physical growth and mental development have been negatively affected from drinking unclean water.
Before I discuss the projects I think it would be appropriate to speak about the Covid situation in Guatemala and that situation is bleak. Less than 2% of the population has been vaccinated and those who have been are primarily in the medical community and in the larger cities. The schools have been closed and remain so, and although there has been an attempt to have on-line education, such a small percentage have access to computers that it is practically non-existent. Education was problematic prior the to the pandemic and is now basically a disaster. Most people in Guatemala already exist on the poverty level and can’t afford to close down society, so businesses stay open, but most are diligent about wearing masks and sanitation. They do what they can to slow the spread.
Travel to Guatemala is still permitted, but there are some challenges. You must be fully vaccinated to enter the country and you must have a negative Covid test prior to returning home. The airlines have reduced the number of flights and our itinerary was changed three times prior to our departure.
NOW ABOUT THE PROJECTS-George Gehard
I will provide information about the Pasac project as well as some basic information about the Tippy-Tap project and the La Vega project. I will report on what I was able to observe during my visit and will ask Mark Rohweder and Dave Renfrow to provide additional information regarding what has transpired in LaVega and the Tippy-Tap communities since our visit.
Those of you who attended our last Coalition meting know that we approved $12,000 to support a Global Grant to provide Tippy Tap hand wash stations and water filters for several smaller communities in the region of San Andreas Itzapa. I’m pleased to report that the Tippy-Tap Global Grant has been approved. Dave will be providing additional information on this project but we were able to observe the Tippy Taps and water filters in use and I was very impressed with both the functionality and the economics of this project. Invite Dave to visit your club; he’s really got a good thing going to meet critical needs in smaller communities. This grant is being sponsored by the Whitefish club.
I was honored to be able to initiate the construction phase of the La Vega project. This project is being sponsored by the Kalispell Noon club, and at over $320,000 is the largest project the Coalition has undertaken. It is amazing what can be accomplished when we all work together. After speeches, prayers, and fireworks I was asked to lower a stone into a hole that symbolized the first shovel of dirt or the laying of the first stone of a foundation. The respective team members from both Kalispell and Mazatenango have been meeting regularly by Zoom over the past several months discussing procedures, obtaining bids, and making decisions.
Our visit to Pasac was a celebration as we neared the completion of the construction phase of that project. This community is blessed to have a wonderful spring that produces nearly 300 gallons of water per minute. The project involves capturing this water and bringing it to a new holding tank in the community, a distance of about two miles. The concept is quite basic but the actual construction was challenging do the steep, boulder-laden terrain and the crossing of a river. Where the pipe couldn’t be buried it was suspended on concrete piers. The new holding tank, made of poured concrete, measures about 20 feet by 30 feet by 8 feet deep. The hole was hand dug by the community and the concrete mixed and poured by hand with the community supplying the unskilled labor.
After visiting the site of the tank and formally cutting the ribbon I turned on the spigot to symbolize the first water. We then proceed down to the community for lunch prepared on an open fire, music, skits by the older children, and a traditional native dance that I, with my two left feet, struggled to participate in. This $90,000 project is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Kootenai Valley.
The one area of this project that continues to be problematic is the required hygiene training, first with Covid in the community and now with Covid in the medical clinic we’ve contracted with to provide the training. I don’t see this problem going away anytime soon so we may be struggling to seek solutions for some time.
UPDATED INFORMATION: TIPPY TAPS AND LA VEGA 10/2/21
TIPPY TAPS BY DAVE RENFROW
The Global Grant “clean hands, clean water at home and at school” includes four very authentic communities. In the coastal highlands of western Guatemala, only 15 miles but as world apart from UNESCO world heritage site Antigua, 2518 men, women and children work primarily as farm laborers.
Scope of the project includes 315 home bio-sand filters, 5 Tippy Tap hand wash stations for schools, 9 community bio-sand systems and 9 submersible pumps. Important to success is hand wash and bio-sand training according to UNICEF protocol for whole communities.
Work is scheduled to commence in December with great opportunities in January and February for ‘voluntourists’ to enjoy hands-on building of filter systems with user families. More information about volunteer trips to follow.
LA VEGA BY MARK ROHWEDER
After years of planning, training, and fundraising, work on the ground has begun. A well driller was recently selected. The well driller has mobilized their equipment to La Vega and has begun drilling the new well. The well driller anticipates 30 – 45 days to complete the well. The community of La Vega celebrated the beginning of the project before the well drilling began.
The Sustainable Global Coalition made our second wire transfer of funds in September. The second transfer represents all the funds that were collected by the Coalition. The members of the Rotary Club of Mazatenango are using these funds to pay for the well driller and the pump house. We have contacted The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and are working with them to make their first transfer of funds. The funds from the first TRF payment will go toward purchasing and erecting the water storage tank.
Training continues as La Vega. If all continues as planned, the project should be completed within a year from now.