Water for Life Grant
The GA2030 team of Roger and Rob travel to the Amazon to distribute and validate water filtration systems through a grant funded by the Rotary Club of Flat Irons of Boulder with support of Conapac and the Rotary Club of Iquitos.
The Water For Life Grant, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Boulder Flatirons, set out to improve the health and well-being of people living in impoverished situations in remote areas of the Amazon. The grant funds provided safe drinking water through the distribution of water filtration systems. Systems were delivered where larger infrastructures and complex systems are less effective. Future plans include testing for continued water safety.
In February of 2020, Rob Miller and Roger Cabbage traveled to the Amazon to educate, distribute, and test low-cost water filter systems. The water filter systems were delivered through six educational workshops that gathered community leaders and families of remote villages along the Amazon and Napo Rivers in Loreto Peru. The workshops explained the importance of safe drinking water prior to guiding families through the assembly of the filter systems. The assembly of the systems builds a stronger sense of ownership and a level of comfort with operational maintenance. These workshops provided the knowledge and tools for families to produce safe drinking water for their families to reduce the health issues associated with drinking contaminated water.
To assure effectiveness, the filter systems are regularly sampled and tested. Since travel to these villages is infrequent and beyond the reach of typical NGO’s, we set up a multi-layered contact system involving the local Rotary club, a hospital with a proven outreach program, and a local non-profit supporting conservation, education, and health initiatives. All of these groups have been trained to support the use of these filter and can assist with interim evaluation, maintenance, and repair.
During the first trip of this grant, Rob and Roger visited five locations to conduct interviews and bacterial tests on filter systems that were distributed several months prior. During subsequent trips, the team will be testing the units recently distributed to assure not only filter effectiveness, but also validate if families are properly adapting to new water routines.
From this grant, nearly one hundred families are equipped to produce safe drinking water within these remote villages. We estimate the impact to provide safe water to five hundred individuals for over two years.
