Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere with 65% of the population living in poverty. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 55,000 people died in the Americas from unsafe water and poor sanitation in 2000. So it’s no wonder that, in its rural, remote areas, communities have had little chance of ever receiving an improved water system. Pure Water’s mission is to help solve that problem.
Pure Water is committed to sustainability in Honduras; we take a long-term approach. Applying our Water-Triangle solution, [links to explanation] we focus on water purification, health and hygiene education, and sanitation. With our involvement in Honduras, over 18,000 families are receiving the benefits of safe drinking water and training. We work with community leaders to determine the best approach to solving their water needs. Pure Water believes that community involvement, training and education are essential components to developing a sustainable water project.
In Honduras, the third leg of the Water Triangle, sanitary waste solutions, is critical to breaking the cycle of contamination. Honduran homes don’t have bathrooms, but depend on shallow, hand-dug, unlined latrines — or bushes. These unsanitary conditions make everyone, and especially kids, more susceptible to contracting diseases and vulnerable to intestinal parasites, dysentery, diarrhea, dehydration, and even death – all known risks from drinking contaminated water.
Pure Water for the World, Inc. works in Honduras as Agua Pura para el Mundo — a legally recognized Honduran NGO established, funded and managed by Pure Water for the World.
Agua Pura is currently working in the Trojes region, one of the poorest areas of Honduras. Known as the “recovered zone” of the district of el Paraiso, this area was once part of the Republic of Nicaragua. The influx of Contra rebels into this area in the 1980s caused many people to flee the region, and it has been left without any support from either central or regional governments.
Since the beginning of our work in Honduras in 2002, Agua Pura has provided safe water and hygiene education to more than 116,000 children and their families. In partnership with UNICEF, we have installed water filtration systems and latrines, trained community stewards, and conducted hygiene education workshops in 32 communities.
Thousands of families received the means to live healthier lives and to improve their hygiene and sanitation habits. We are determined to reach all of the remaining Trojes communities, with a short-term goal of serving 1,100 additional families by the end of 2013.
With your help, we can improve the lives of more families, faster.
