Physical Health Peru Project #2734

Clean Water and Sanitation -Rainforest of Peru

by House of the Children

Clean Water and Sanitation -Rainforest of Peru

Project Report | Jun 14, 2010
Project Tayakome Update

By Nancy Santullo | Founder & Executive Director

Children drinking clean H2O from school sink.

PROJECT TAYAKOME UPDATE: It has been an AMAZING time for all of us here in the remote Amazon of Peru, in service to the indigenous people in our Project Tayakome. Our happy news to report is that the children and people are incorporating their clean water system and tap stand built in 2009, beautifully, into everyday life. After years of failed programming by governmental agencies, the people now have direct experience that an outside organization honors and fulfills their commitments to them. The people have learned through their hard work in building their infrastructure that they are the change and the future of their community. THE FLOW OF CLEAN H2O: Clean H2O continues to flow to each home, the village schoolhouse, and the medical post. The kids adapted instantly, and they especially love their stone utility sink at the school. The tap stands are clean and hygienic, and we are very encouraged at how quickly the women and children embraced simple maintenance practices of them. The village water committee, which was trained over 5 months by our project supervisor in 2009, have taken on their new responsibility of maintaining the water system with great enthusiasm. WHAT'S NEXT! We are in the throws of building eco-friendly bathrooms for the children at the schoolhouse. The preliminary work of purchasing the construction materials, gathering over 30,000 kilos of rock and sand for the structure, and building the native roof that covers the structure has been underway since May 1st. Our river boats have been working non-stop as well, transporting all the material 3 days on the river to the village. We officially break ground to start the actual building of the structures on June 17, 2010. Construction is scheduled will last through September 2010. YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT: Our success in Tayakome simply would not be possible without the support of each and everyone of you through our GlobalGiving partnership. We are creating the first ever replicable indigenous health project for remote rain forest people in the southeastern Amazon of Peru. Our 8 member staff of House of the Children are among the chosen few of billions of people on the planet that are allowed inside this strictly protected rain forest in service of her people. We have raised over 10K through GlobalGiving since June of 2009. However, we still have more to accomplish together. We are in need of additional funds to meet our current schedule. We would be grateful for your continued support of our work in empowering indigenous the children and people of this most sacred rain forest for generations to come. Many thanks and continued blessings to you all! Through sharing our abundance, we transform our world.

H2O comittee member monitoring filtration system.

Project Supervisor reviewing designs for bathroom.

Links:

Project Videos on Youtube

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Feb 5, 2010
Clean Water Now Flowing and Our Goals for 2010

By Nancy Santullo | Project Tayakome Update

Susana will now grow up with clean water directly at her home.

In December of 2009, for the first time in the 47 year history of the community of Tayakome, clean water flowed throughout the village reaching 190 people, 15 homes, the school, and medical post. Phase One of our integral indigenous health programming is now complete through the combined efforts of HOTC's skilled technical team, the community members and children, and Global Giving donors! A gravity flow water system was built and slow sand filtration was installed to accommodate population growth up to 350 people. Fifteen homes also received a tap stand with an underground greywater drain. A utility sink was built at the schoolhouse, and water finally arrived to the medical post that was built 6 years prior, and had been operating without sanitation services. Our work, which inspires the children and people of Tayakome to achieve their greatest potential, simply would not have been possible without your generous support. The lives of the children and the people forever transformed for the better, because of YOU! Goals for 2010

Sanitation Infrastructure: Construction of flush latrines (separate sides for boys and girls) with an eco-friendly septic system at the village schoolhouse, and a utility sink at the preschool. Health Education: Health education classes for the mothers and children in partnership with the health personnel at the medical post and village school teachers. Technical and Vocational Training: Training in water and sanitation systems repair and maintenance for the village based water committee. Construction of the bathrooms and utility sink will begin on April 1st, 2010, and is scheduled to be completed by July 31st 2010. Our health education and technical training classes will be ongoing throughout the year. Know that your ongoing support through Global Giving of the children and people we serve in this remote rain forest of Peru is greatly appreciated and valued. We are in need of an additional $50,000 to reach our goals for 2010. Every dollar you donate helps ensure a healthier life for the children and people of Tayakome for generations to come. Thank you for your generosity!

Blessings to you all, Nancy Santullo

Executive Director House of the Children

Primary school children performing maintenance on their new sink

Cable bridge was constructed to flow water to the community

Links:

http://www.houseofthechildren.org

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Dec 4, 2009
Project Tayakome Update

By Nancy Santullo | Founder and Executive Director

Cable Bridge that flow water to the community.

Dear Friends,

In November of 2007, HOTC's team made a journey deep into the primary rain forest of Manu to assess the health needs of the native Matsigenka village of Tayakome. It was on that day that Hilario, a man from the village, filled with emotion, raised his voice at our community meeting, and said, "we want a better life for our children, and are willing to work hard together to achieve clean water."

We are proud to report that after 17 months of development on August 24, 2009 HOTC has officially broke ground in Tayakome. This is the first time in the history of the Manu Park, established in 1973, that indigenous people in the protected zone, will be empowered by sustainable health infrastructure, clean water, sanitation and health education. We are all very excited!

Our Services for Tayakome are: • Equal access to SAFE drinking water throughout the community. • The construction of a communal gravity flow water system. • Sturdy tap stands with an eco-friendly underground greywater drain at each home. • Stone utility sinks at the village schoolhouses. • Bathrooms that include flush latrines with eco-friendly septic system at the school grounds. • Weekly health and hygiene classes for the children and monthly classes for the mothers. • Baseline health assessments which include parasite and anemia testing to monitor the health advances in the community. • Technical training for the village based water committee and health personnel in health infrastructure, construction and water safety. • Partnerships with the health and education ministry for long term health advances and project sustainability.

Phase One: Construction of the gravity flow water system and slow sand filtration, 15 tap stands and 2 utility sinks with underground greywater drains, and base line health assessment is scheduled to be competed by Dec 30, 2009.

There are 190 people living in Tayakome; 110 of them are children under the age of 15. The water system is accommodating all the people, and will allow for a 5% growth rate per year over 15 years.

Our Project Advances:

• 100kg of construction materials have been purchased and transported one day by land, and three days on the river by boat and are in the community. • 100% of the 3.5 km water distribution line has been laid throughout the village. • 100% of the 100,000 kg of stone for the greywater drains have been collected. • Water filtration system has been designed by our US environmental engineer, Humphrey Blackburn of Blackburn & Assoc. Humphrey's operations manager made a trip to Tayakome in late October, to assist our team in building the water filtration system. The Slow Sand Filters are now in place and functioning, with a storage tank holds 18,500 liters of safe drinking water.

• 15 Tap stands have been built at each home throughout the central community and the underground drain at each tap to dispose of grey water will be finished by the 15th of Dec.

• Health examinations were conducted in November for all children and families which included anemia and parasite base line testing.

• Our Medical Anthropologist Glenn Shepard Jr. Ph.D spent six days in the community at the end of August documenting the social impact of our program.

Our advances continue to be steady as we are now flat up rainy season. Our team remains united the villagers dedicated to completing this first phase of the infrastructure in their community by the 15th of December.

We are 80% there, and are in need $30,000 complete this first phase of programming, which is flowing clean water to 15 homes, the village schoolhouse and medical post, and includes health education classes and technical training for the village water committee.

Your generosity has been instrumental in HOTC achieving the above accomplishments. Know that every dollar you donate through Network for Good helps to ensure a healthier life for the children and people of Tayakome.

Thank You and Bless You all for what you are facilitating for the people of Tayakome and we look forward to your continued support as we serve humanity in this remote and special part of our world.

We wish you all a warm holiday season filled with love and all things bright.

Love and Blessings, Nancy Santullo

Project forman pouring the floor for the sink at schoolhouse.

Base line testing for anemia.

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