Transform lives with clean water in Honduras

Slow but safe step is one of the goals of the water management board to ensure that you get a sustainable project that guarantees the duration for many years.

The board of directors is responsible for managing and monitoring the new drinking water system on behalf of the community. To ensure that key stakeholders' ideas are integrated into planning, it has met with representatives of government agencies that work around water and sanitation projects, and in this way, ensure that it is framed in country laws, in addition to build a working relationship that facilitate the construction process.

This approach with key players facilitates the work dynamics, and allows to strengthen and create new capacities of the people of the administrative board, who have a low educational level, but who have a leadership that stands out above the rest of the community.

It has been understood that in the union there is strength, and the more key players are involved in the project, the probability of success will be higher, that is why an approach was held between the Water Management Board, Fundación Nombre de Dios and the Institute of Forest Conservation (ICF) to begin designing a comprehensive and participatory work plan, and to consider the environmental issue, which guarantees a generation of clean water in abundance.

There is now a visit to the community of Duke Engineers for International Development [DEID], who are working on the reactivation of the gray water control system as part of the components around the new drinking water system. As well as DEID, we also thank each of the donors who make this project a reality in this region of Honduras.

Among the communities in the Cangrejal Valley, El Pital has been the community with the poorest access to basic services.  Until recently, it did not have an adequate graywater system to cover the demands of the area’s rapid population growth.  For several years, diseases struck this community heavily, culminating in health crises such as dengue, zika, chikungunya and malaria epidemics.

Both, Water Board and community members consider that an adequate graywater system is not only important to avoid the outbreak of epidemic diseases, but also to avoid contamination of the aquifer.  This becomes of utmost importance since the community is located on the banks of a main river, and it is the source of properly treated drinking water for communities.  They also believe that the served population must be educated in waste management, cleaning and general maintenance of their graywater system.

Carmindo (65-years old), member of the Water Board of El Pital, commented that "…after making an evaluation of the Water and Sanitation project and applying a community survey, we decided to carry out different micro projects in sanitation training and management of graywater systems, dry baths, ecological stoves, and reforestation of the basin”.  In the first weeks of March 2017, preparations began for the implementation of the "School and Healthy Home" program (ESCASAL) - a comprehensive program that covers all areas around a water project (management, health, and environmental health, law, sustainability, and others).  The training is offered to the Water Board, community’s residents, and schoolchildren.

Carmindo continues to explain that, "This year we have many challenges, ahead since we have already completed the design of the drinking water project for the village, and we are looking for more support to conclude it.  We are also strengthening the leadership of our Water Board with training and sharing of experiences.  Our communities will have the necessary knowledge to maintain environmental sanitation in their homes, schools, churches, and in the community in general”.

“Thanks to the collaboration of volunteers and donors, we have been able to build and rehabilitate the graywater system in the community of El Pital, which is an eco-friendly graywater system, and is a model for other communities in the area.  This makes us feel very proud.  We are sharing our experience and knowledge with other communities that want and need to build a system like ours.  We hope they continue to support us so our children, young people and women have a better standard of living", concludes Carmindo ”.