Why We Do What We Do

In this section we will give some examples of personal stories about our work.

Yerlin Edith, a 10-year-old girl from the village of Rio Abajo in Honduras, used to stay home from school several days at a time crying, hoping the pain in her stomach would pass. She couldn't eat. And she only had the contaminated water to drink that had caused her pain in the first place. Shortly after her family received a filter and received our parasitic treatment, with a great smile on her face, she said that she hadn't been sick in nine months and no longer misses school. Reported by Ken Grabeau.

A man standing on his front porch with his shy, smiling daughter standing behind him explained with a beaming face how proud he was of his filter and what it meant to him and his family. He explained that his daughter had been diagnosed with a kidney disease and he was told that she was going to die. Finally he heard about the filters that were being put into a neighboring village, and he wanted a filter for himself and for those in his village. Within months of his family having clean, safe drinking water, his daughter's problems ended and she was the beautiful smiling daughter clinging to his leg. Her kidney disease was cured by the water which is why one village medicine woman goes around her villages declaring that the best medicine is the water from one of our filters. Reported by Bill Meub.

According to a nurse in charge of the health center for the 300-home community of San Matais, Honduras, diarrhea was by far the number one malady that they treated prior to the filters being installed. Now, according to the nurse, water-related cases of diarrhea are very rare. "The parents that I talk with all tell me that their children do not get sick any more. The bottom line is that the Pure Water program works." Reported by Byron Miller.

In the community of Lomas Limpia, Honduras, they have a water system that is made up of a series of pipes collecting surface water from springs. The water is contaminated and carries a lot of sediment. Luis, an officer of the community water board, and his wife Gravero Espinal, explained that their two young girls had regular problems with their kidneys, infections, and abdominal pain. Gravero also had infections in her kidneys and had to go to the hospital regularly; the tests would not reveal anything. Once the filters were brought into the community to treat the water and people had been educated on the proper handling and caring for the clean, safe drinking water the children's problems disappeared and Gravero has not had any more symptoms. The water does not have sediment and it even tastes better. Reported by Ramon Fuentes.

From the community of Guyacan, Honduras, we learned that the approximate annual costs of treating illnesses related to drinking bad water for a family is at least 3000 lempira a year. Since the installation of the water filters, people have saved this money so that it can be used for other purposes. People also said that the water color changed from brown to almost perfectly clear. Many exclaimed that the project was "bonito". Reported by Tristam Johnson.

In the village of La Concepcion, Honduras, the following conversation was held with Suyapa Gudal, a young mother. There were 4 people living in her house, two were children ages 6 & 9. Last year every 2 to 3 months there were health problems. Sometimes the local health center had medicines to resolve the problems but sometime they did not. When that occurred, she would have to take her two children to Danli to get treatment for the problems. A trip to Danli from La Concepcion costs 30 lempiras for the bus, 3 hours of actual travel time, required a 6:30 am departure and a 3:00 pm return. Last year her oldest child missed more than 10% of the school year. The children like school and don't want to miss it. Since the installation of the filter and parasitic treatment, she has seen marked physical growth for her children. She has seen that the kids are no longer suffering from parasites and are not dealing with diarrhea and they are no longer malnourished. There are now fewer illnesses, lower incidence of getting sick, and the house is a happier place as the parents are no longer preoccupied with the pain and illnesses from which their children had suffered. Reported by Tristam Johnson.

At a meeting at the school in San Geronimo, Honduras, attended by 8 women and 2 men, I asked how much the people in the village now valued their filters. I asked, "How much would you sell your filters for?" First there was silence as they thought that they had to sell the filters. They did not want to have to sell their filters for any price. Finally they understood and agreed that 1000 lempira, 10 times the price they paid, would be a fair value but they all agreed that they would then go and buy a new filter with the money that they made. These women said their children respect the purpose of the filter and now the children recognize that a complete filter includes the collection bucket and water storage container as the system providing them reliable clean, safe drinking water. The filters have substantially improved the health of the families in the village. According to these women, the training process was complete and very important to know what had to be done to protect themselves. These women were very satisfied, very content with the promotional efforts made to promote the project. Reported by Ramon Fuentes.

In the village of Potrerillo, Honduras, the doctors used to offer parasite treatment every 6 months to children. But after the second month of regular use of the filters and the implementation of our parasite treatment, there has been no call or need for parasitic treatment by the rotating doctors serving this community. The people really like their filters and they are already accustomed to them. Each household must pay 100 lempira for their filter and they pay that amount in installments to Johanna, the local bookkeeper and nurse. She keeps a very clear record of the delivery of a filter to a household with the delivery date clearly noted. An adult of that household signs her book confirming receipt of the filter. Johanna then records each household's payment. She is ultimately responsible for turning over the money to PWW after it has been collected. They know that the price that they pay is less than the actual costs, but making the payments make all of them feel invested in the filter project. Some have paid off the purchase price all at once after hearing what it was doing. From the community nurse, Johanna, "We, the community and the health center, have taken ownership of this project as if it were our own, as if we had designed it". We visited one small neighborhood store in this community (the store is one part of the famil's home), which has a filter. The women we talked to said that often locals, children or adults, when visiting would ask for filtered water if they were thirsty. This is significant as it shows that they have learned the value of the filter, trust that it supplies clean water, and that they know to ask for "filtered water". This woman also told us that people choose to carry containers of filtered water with them when they travel away from Potrerillos. Reported by Carolyn Meub.

In the village of Chorrera, Honduras, the impact of these filters has been powerful, not just because there has been a dramatic decrease in the incidence of diarrhea but because this particular community is one of those rare cases where they have a well rounded diet and access to a wide assortment of vegetables, meats, grains, and diary products. This is the exception but nonetheless these kids were malnourished because diarrhea and intestinal parasites effectively prevented their bodies and metabolism from making the most of the food they consumed. Now that water born illnesses are not limiting their growth and development, these kids are healthy, their complexions healthy, their skin color and tone healthy, and their faces show energy and development. Before their skin color was pallid and hard inflexible, "toasted", but now chapudito and very soft. The school has 54 kids including kindergarten. These kids say the water has a great flavor and they like it. All said with great happy smiles, "this water is very flavorful and much better than before.. One quarter of the kids in the school share responsibilities at home putting water in the filter on a daily basis. The parents of these kids are overwhelmed "emocionados" by the effects of this project have fully accepted this project and understand completely the importance of these filters in the lives of their kids. The teacher was asked about absenteeism before and after the installation of these filters and in particular if diarrhea had an impact on school attendance. She said that before the installation there were on average 8 - 10 students missing every day out of a classroom of approximately 40. Now there are only 2 or 3 children out a day - and not for diarrhea. Kids were asked if they ever get visitors who have never seen a filter and don't know anything about the filters. The kids say they explain what it is and how it works and what it has done to their health. The word about our filters is spreading. Reported by Tristam Johnson.