We packed up our bags early in the morning and took a long, windy and bumpy ride to Panajachel, where Rotary president Juan Carlos gave us the opportunity to build water filters for the local community. It was probably one of my personal favorites. These water filters were made out of industrial plastic. Essentially, we stacked two buckets, screwed in 2 corn-cob sized white filters and put a plastic spicket at the bottom.
What amazed me the most? The fact that 80% of diseases come from contaminated water, according to Juan Carlos. He said that with the water filters, the family saves money from buying gallons of purified water. Furthermore, children can attend school more often and adults can work more -- a better environment overall. A simple design consisting of two buckets will save lives and improve overall lifestyles. It amazes me.
Families filed in, watching us build these filters. We watched as the organization called out names and women picked up filters to take home. We saw the immediate effects of the project. I think the photographs say enough.
Just a random picture of Elisa. I loved the color of this wall and had to snap a shot.
We also saw the new ovens that were installed in a few houses. These ovens also help improve lifestyles because the smoke does not fill up the kitchen and lungs because there is a pipe that channels the smoke outside of the house. We met a girl named Alicia, a member of Rotaract of Stanford University, who will be taking a group of Stanford students to Guatemala during the summer to work on oven installations.
1 comment:
I love your writing and your pictures! Next time we meet you have to teach me some photography lessons!
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