Ajay Badhwar, 31, Midland, pours water into a water filter in a rural village in Honduras. He and Midlander Stephen Wildes traveled to the Central American country to see how money donated by local Rotary International clubs was being put to use. The filters provide clean water to families who otherwise would not have access to it.

    Not everyone can count on clean tap water coming from a faucet.

    That was abundantly clear to two local Rotary International club members who visited Honduras to see the impact Midlanders are having in providing clean water to people in need.

    Visiting one-room, dirt floor homes without running water showed the importance of their work, said Midland resident Ajay Badhwar, who returned Monday with Midlander Stephen Wildes.

    Both Midland Rotary clubs have sponsored bio-sand water filters through the Pure Water for the World organization. For about $65, a household can enjoy water that is far more potable than the dirty creeks and wells used in outlying areas of Honduras.

    Wildes said 55,000 children in that country die of waterborne illnesses every year, out of a population of about 7.5 million people.

    "That's more than the population of Midland," Badhwar said. "You've got to do something about it. These are kids."

    Local Rotarians have donated thousands of dollars toward purchasing water filters, which Pure Water installs.

    "There's a bunch of normal people out there like you and I who are out there doing this work and making an impact," Badhwar said.

    Common contaminants in the water include fecal matter — which brings with it bacteria, parasites, worm eggs and viruses — along with organic material and particulates.

    The water filters work by mimicking the process used in nature to purify water, Badhwar said. Water is poured in at the top of the filter, and drains through a layer that decomposes organic matter and eliminates most bacteria and viruses. The water filters through sand, gravel and rock, removing particulates and contaminants before it exits the filter as drinkable water.

    "It struck me as very common sense," Badhwar said. "It's simple and it's cost effective."

    Wildes said the filters provide about 20 liters of water per hour, and about 15,400 filters have been made so far by Pure Water.

    "This is a cost effective, simple resource that millions of people need," Wildes said.

    Badhwar said working with families is "critical" and several return trips are made after installation.

    "It's critical that they learn the elements of personal hygiene," Wildes said, such as to use a latrine, wash their hands, keep animals away from water supplies and how to store clean water.

           In this diagram, drawn by Badhwar, unclean water is filtered through sand, gravel and rocks to removal harmful particles, making it safe for household use. Each filter weighs as much as 400 pounds, which prevents them from being stolen.

    The families pay a small cost for the filter to give them ownership of it, sometimes around $5.

    "It makes them committed to sticking to it," Wildes said.

    The two Midlanders traveled with four other Rotarians from other chapters during the trip. They first went to the capital city Tegucigalpa and then traveled to Danli and Choluteca to see existing filters in use.

    During their trip, Badhwar talked with families who have noticed a difference in health after beginning to use the clean water. Nurses at area clinics noted an improvement as well, he said.

    Wildes said while support from Rotary clubs in Midland and elsewhere is important, the Rotary clubs in Honduras are doing important work with the project as well. Pure Water employs people from the area and use local materials whenever possible to build the filters.

    Wildes and Badhwar also made a stop in Costa Rica to speak at a Rotary district meeting about how to fund similar projects.

    "When local districts look for things to fund, they can do this," Badhwar said.

Children in Honduras gather in a community helped by Rotary Club members, who paid for water filters that have cut the instances of diarrhea and other waterborne illnesses.

    Badhwar has participated in a previous Rotary trip to India, where he helped fight the spread of polio. He said the trips can be exhausting, both emotionally and physically.

    "It's not a vacation by any means," he said.

    The reward is worth the effort, though.

    "It's the right thing to do," he said. "Somebody can live because we donated a couple bucks."

    For more information on Pure Water for the World visit www.purewaterfortheworld.org/

    For more information on Midland's two Rotary International chapters visit www.themidlandrotaryclub.com and www.midlandmorningrotary.org.