By Nancy Santullo | Founder and Executive Director
Dear Friends,
It’s time once again to update you on our progress, as we work to improve the quality of life for the children and people of Tayakome, in the remote Amazon of Peru. There is more positive news to report! After 14 months of an intense construction schedule, the water and sanitation infrastructure are now in place and functioning for the people. House of the Children now enters into Phase II of our indigenous health programming.
Phase II Includes:
1. Technical training seminars for the village water and sanitation committee in system maintenance and water quality.
2. Establishment of a water fund by community leaders that charges a monthly fee to each family, for water use.
3. Health monitoring in Tayakome to document parasite and anemia levels in the population, in partnership with the health ministry medical personnel.
4. Health and hygiene classes for the children, mothers, and family, done in partnership with the village school teacher, health promoter, and medical personnel in residence.
This phase is the most crucial and guarantees long term health advances for the children and people and, equally important, project sustainability. Over 50% of all water projects fail in the first 5 years globally because health education and technical training in system management is not reinforced long term.
HOTC maintains bi-monthly contact with the president of Tayakome to monitor how the children and people are doing assuming their maintenance responsibilities of the structures. The president reports that the gravity flow water system (installed in 09) and the bathrooms (installed in 2010) are well maintained, hygienic, and in working order.
Health education continues with the children. The nurse from the health post conducts weekly hygiene classes for the children in partnership with the teacher. A health promoter from the village, who is a young Matsigenka mother, also conducts a weekly maintenance class that reinforces cleanliness of the bathrooms and basic hand washing with the children. This promoter also makes monthly house-to-house visits to connect with the mothers and reinforce maintenance of the tap stand and basic daily hygiene at the family level. The nurse, medical personnel, and the health promoter were trained by HOTC staff over the nine months our team was in residence in Tayakome in 2010.
Our project supervisor Caleb Matos Chavez will make a ten day visit to the community at the end of March 2011 to check – in and conduct a three day technical training seminar with the water and sanitation committee and villagers, and a day long training with the nurse, doctor and health promoter. He will also make a complete review of the infrastructure. In June of 2011 our health supervisor will enter to conduct our yearly parasite and anemia study to monitor the health of the people, now that these basic health services are in place.
Our accomplishments continue to be many, and made possible through your ongoing support of our work through the GlobalGiving Network. We thank each and every one of you for the difference you make in bettering the lives of these beautiful Matsigenka people, who were all but forgotten by their government. Each village we complete brings us closer to a world where all children and people have their basic human needs of clean water, a dignified toilet and health education realized. As we help the indigenous children and people of Manu, we provide hope and inspiration to the 10’s of thousands of remote indigenous rainforest peoples globally. Word is spreading—that the Matsigenka are making the impossible, possible in Manu.
We are confident that one day, in the not too distant future, the basic human needs of all peoples will be met!
Thank you again for your continued generosity and friendship you extend to the people we serve. We will keep you updated on our advances as we continue to promote health and well being with the indigenous children and people of Tayakome.
Sincerely yours in service,
Nancy Santullo
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By Nancy Santullo | Executive Director
By Nancy Santullo | Founder & Executive Director
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