If most of us were asked what “access to clean, safe water” means, we wouldn’t know how to respond. For the people of the Santa Rosa de Copan region of Western Honduras, it means their children won’t get sick; it means they no longer have to fetch water from a river or stream with unknown contaminants; it means they can bathe at home and use their own bathroom.
When I want a drink of water, or take a shower, I turn on the faucet. When I need to use the restroom, I walk down the hallway, shut the door, and use it. This is not the case for 2.2 billion of our global neighbors. One in four people lack access to safely managed drinking water, and another 703 million people lack a safe water source within a 30-minute round-trip walk of their home.
In early September, along with nine other Rotarians and four World Vision staff members, I had the opportunity to meet with families in five different communities in this area whose lives have been changed forever because they now have water and latrines at their homes. The children now have separate, lockable bathrooms and handwashing stations at their schools to support hygiene habits. With these improvements, girls can now stay in school during their menstrual cycles because of the single-stall toilets and water.
The Rotary Club of Santa Rosa de Copan, in partnership with Rotary clubs in the United States, developed a plan of action to develop this nearly $1 million Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) program, with matching funds from The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International and World Vision. The program would never have gotten off the ground without each community’s commitment to developing, owning, and maintaining the functionality of their water source for their homes, and school latrines and handwash stations.
When asked what they do when something breaks, Nando, the plumber, trained by World Vision, said, “We don’t call World Vision! We pay for our services, so we have the money to buy replacement parts. We must be responsible for our own systems.”
Each family pays $2.00 a month for the use and maintenance of their new water and sanitation systems. All members of the community helped build the water system by digging the trenches, by hand, and assisting World Vision in laying the piping. Their work resulted in a 10,000- gallon, spring-fed tank. The spring lies in a protected area 8 km (5 miles) from the tank. The community is no longer dependent on rain for their water – a very new concept for them.
Sustainability in the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) world means that once a program is completed, the benefiting community “owns” and is responsible for its continued success. One of the first priorities in ownership is leadership. Each community we visited has a water committee with term limits. Members serve, mentor others, and they grow.
The smallest community we visited is home to approximately 266 people, and the largest had a population of 385 families and 2,010 people. The overwhelming feeling is that their communities have been strengthened and that local governments and the people came together through the partnerships created – demonstrating empowerment in ownership. We had the privilege of celebrating their ownership with them.
World Vision and Rotary play complimentary roles in our Global Grant programs. World Vision is the implementing partner, with local professionals working on the ground with community members. Rotary is the advocacy partner, working with local, district, and national governments to create lasting change that benefits citizens.
Many of the people we met told us how much they appreciated us because we came to them. National politicians often forget about them because they are so far away from the city centers. They weren’t important. We met the mayors in four of the five communities we visited and all are committed to the people they serve and represent.Each community’s school is an important part of family life. We were honored to be at a school on National Children’s Day. Even though the children had the day off to celebrate, they joined us and shared with us why clean and safe water is important. T
They told us they don’t have to fetch water any more, they don’t get sick, their moms and dads aren’t as worried, they can go to school every day, and they can bathe whenever they want. One young boy told us that he usually takes one-to-two showers a day now – sometimes three – just because he can.
Access to safe water has changed every aspect of life for those we met. I am proud to be a member of the Madison West Middleton Rotary Club, as we continue our ever-expanding work to do good in the world. For more information, please visit madisonwestmidrotary.org.