by Grace Galloway, Princeton in Latin America Fellow, Comunidad Connect
Since beginning in 2011 Nica Agua has partnered with 16 communities, working side by side with community members as they achieve their goal: access to clean drinking water in their homes.
Final meeting with community leaders. Yarisleidy, third from left, explains project results and conclusions.
This fall marks a time of both conclusions and beginnings for Nica Agua. Our team has just concluded the third follow up on filters for over 500 families in 13 communities in the Atlantic Regions of Nicaragua. Each monitoring includes quantitative and qualitative questions about the use and effectiveness of the filters. We are excited to report that nearly all families report “excellent” or “good” results from their filter. The small proportion of families who report subpar results gives Comunidad Connect an opportunity for improvement and reflection. More in depth quantitative results will be published in an upcoming report!
Technician completing filter follow-up surveys. Photo: Yarisleidy Mayorquin
As we conclude our projects in the Atlantic regions, we begin to expand to San Esteban, in Jinotega, Northern Nicaragua. San Esteban, a coffee farming community of about 100 families, is nestled right next door to Los Robles, one of our most active community partners. San Esteban became interested Comunidad Connect’s filter program after seeing its success in Los Robles.
Currently, our Nica Agua and community health teams are preparing San Esteban by taking a census and discussing potential service projects with community leaders. Through Nica Agua, interested families earn their water filters by participating in 16 hours of community service, thereby bettering their community and personal health simultaneously.
In the next month, we will survey households in San Esteban on health indicators and current access to clean water. Then, families will participate in community service hours and receive their filters after completing their service hours. Families can begin to use their filters right away, reducing rates of diarrhea and parasite infections. As illnesses are reduced, productivity at work and school increase; money used to go to and from a health clinic for treatment can be put toward other family needs.
Do you want to join the team of people facilitating the delivery of water filters to the families in San Esteban? Do you want to help reduce rates of diarrhea and parasite-borne diseases in children and adults? Donate to our Nica Agua San Esteban program here, and become part of the solution!