Generate Income & Hope From Non-Recyclable Garbage

In August, XSProject distributed more than 70 water filtration pots to Jakarta's trash picker community.

 Just as important as providing access to clean water for drinking and cooking has been the monitoring of the families use and care of the pots so far.

 We wanted to get some feedback from the families on what they thought. While XSProject is doing our own monitoring to track the reduced need for medical treatment we also wanted to hear the comments from the adults and children.

 So, with notebook and camera in hand, the XSProject staff went out to interview a few of the families. Everyone they interviewed said they were happy about not having to spend money on bottled water. Before this program, the purchase of “Aqua” had been a large expense that the families could not always afford on the $5.00 a day trash picker income.

 As we had hoped, of the five families we interviewed, we learned that every family member is now drinking the filtered water and moms are cooking with it as well. Using the water filter pot and caring for the filter is easy for everyone to do. Suwartono and his wife Aminah added that they actually even feel healthier.

 The lack of clean water in Indonesia, and especially in Jakarta has recently been in the news. More than 37 million Indonesians lack access to clean water (water.org). Even the families that can afford to purchase bottled water through a supplier are seeing price increases.

 XSProject can directly link the lack of clean water in the trash picker communities to the more than $9,000 we spend annually on their medical needs. In the 4 months since receiving the water filter pots, the medical bills have dropped significantly, with 2 months of no medical bills at all.

 We want to expand this program in 2017. These simple but effective water filter pots cost $35 each. We hope our GlobalGiving donor community will help us with funding to purchase an additional 20 water filter pots.