Biosand filters clean 100 Bolivian families' water

Alejandra and Angela are young mothers who joined our team. They like making the biosand filter containers. Since last year they have been mixing the sand and concrete for building the huge concrete filters.

One Saturday recently, it was only one man and these two women who made it to our workplace in order to build the filter containers. That morning I asked them sadly, “Do you think you will be able to work today without the other friends who were not able to come?” Alejandra looked at me and she said, “I have hands that are very powerful, powerful enough to build even a house. Of course we can do it!”.

That day, I understood how meaningful and important is to do this work for both of them. Some Saturdays both Angela and Alejandra bring their kids. Their kids are elementary school age, but they never sit around at the workplace. Instead, they try to help their moms who are joyfully building the biosand filter containers under the heat of the sun. I saw how one of these kids, aged eight, started serving juice kindly to all the people who were working. I told him, “Thank you”, and he replied with smile, saying, “it is very hot weather, isn´t it?”

With the support of all these wonderful Bolivian women and men, the work of making the biosand filter containers is successful. All of us have a dream about a happy Bolivian family who gets this filter installed at their home!

Thank you for your support that makes this project of neighbors helping neighbors possible.

Photo 1: Alejandra and Angela sieve sand by size through one of a series of mesh screens, to create the layers of the biosand filters.

Photo 2: On that day they didn’t give up in the face of hard work, Angela (in striped sweater) and Alejandra (in red) pose with the inverted filter molds, the newly-made filters lined up behind them.

Photo 3: The same boy who brought everyone juice helps to create the cement to build the filters.