Hens Hatching Hope & It Takes Two

Shoulder to Shoulder's Nutrition project continues to educate families about the hazards of drinking unclean water -- especially for families with children under age 5.  These little ones are especially susceptible to stomach ailments due to impure water.

In the photo above, you can see Sandra (on left) and Gisela (on right) providing education to a group of mothers.  They are being taught that they can purify their drinking water by using bleach.  It is very important that they learn the formula -- 2 drops of bleach per liter of water.  Wait for 30 minutes, and the water is safe to drink. 

To ensure that they remember this formula, each family is given a laminated paper that contains the formula. Each family also receives a bucket with a lid and a tap (the clean water is dispensed via the tap), as well as a small plastic dropper (so that they can count the number of drops of bleach they are putting into the water).  

The project would not be a success if not for the hard work of the Community Health Workers.  Gisela and Sandra provide education to Health Promoters, as well as the buckets, droppers, and laminated education sheets.  Then, the Community Health workers teach the families.  In the photo, you can see the Community Health worker in the center, holding up the instruction sheet.  Sandra is holding one of the buckets that will be given to each family to in which they can store the purified water.  

Four hundred (400) families received their bucket, dropper, and education in the fall of 2025.  Five hundred (500) more families will enter the project in the spring of 2026.

We thank all of our donors who have been sending us donations so we can purchase the buckets and droppers!

Our nutrition program has been going very well.  However, local doctors have been reporting more and more cases of diarrhea in babies and young children -- the presumption being that the dirty water they are drinking is causing their health issues.

We did a Pilot Project in March 2025, in which we trained 50 mothers on how to purify their drinking water by adding 2 drops of bleach into 1 liter of water.  Wait 30 minutes, and the water is purified and does NOT taste of bleach.  

Four months later, we interviewed these same mothers.  99% of them said that they were still purifying their water using the bleach formula, and they felt that the health of their babies and young children had improved.

On my recent trip to Honduras, we expanded our reach...so that 425 more mothers would be given the means to having clean water.  They received:

-- Teaching about the formula of 2 drops of bleach per liter of water

-- A 25 liter plastic bucket with a tap and cover

-- A dropper to measure the bleach

In the photo above you will see one of our teachers providing training on how to purify water.  In the photo below, you will see the Shoulder to Shoulder truck bed filled with plastic buckets on their way to the 425 mothers who will now have a means to purify the water that their family drinks.

We are hopeful that our intervention will lead to improved health outcomes for the babies and children in our area.  Shoulder to Shoulder will provide the buckets and droppers -- the community health promoters will provide the teaching to the families.