AGUA PARA LA SALUD/ INTERNATIONAL RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION GUATEMALA
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AGUA PARA LA SALUD/ INTERNATIONAL RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION GUATEMALA NIT: 3413318-6 Calle Del Manchen # 3, Antigua 28 December 2007 Agua Para La Salud Guatemala GENERAL COUNTRY ACTIVITY The month of Dec. is generally a slow month of the year with the country getting ready for the Christmas holidays. It is a time for many family and business parties such as we see in the US.
In Guatemala there are also lots of fire works. The Antigua market had a near serious explosion when someone threw a light into a fireworks stand and caused a chain reaction through several fire works stands that lasted for about an hour. No one was hurt, but many people were angry about the damage.
One of the bridges near Santa Cruz del Quiche collapsed. This is a main link to Nebaj and will cause some transportation problems for a while. Traffic is being rerouted through unimproved mountain roads.
CIRCUIT RIDERS International Rural Water Association sponsored Circuit Riders Alberto Xoch and Diego Ramirez, are continuing their training of fonteneros, masons and NGO personnel in a variety of topics including plumbing, rain storage tank construction, latrines, and water distribution system layout. Alberto Xoch made a trip to Huehuetenago department, as reported in last months report, to give a plumbing training to a mason building an underground rain storage tank in the Healthy Schools site at Cruz Quemada with Peace Corps volunteer Adrianna Holloman. The system is under construction and doing well.
Cruz Quemada rain storage Tank TRAINING ACTIVITY Circuit rider ... more.
Alberto Xoch in Solola department is continuing to work on a water project solution for El Adelanto. A Rotary Club from Florida is teaming up with the Wisconsin Water For The World (WWW) to finance the project. The project budget is about $30,000.00.
During November, Alberto and I made a trip with the village committee to Chimaltenango to pay DEOCSA for the power installation. DEOCSA installed the power lines and posts in late November and the transformer and power meter in late December to within 40 meters of the spring site. The control cabin was completed during December under Alberto 9s supervision.
Alberto and the El Adelanto pump control cabin The village also spent the month terracing the hillside above the proposed tank and spring site. Circuit rider Diego Ramirez in Nebaj continued the work on the Kalampatzom water project. The spring box, water lines to tank site, and a major portion of the distribution tank have been completed.
Kalampatzom spring box constructed by Juan (left) and Nicolas (right) Masons for Agua Para La Salud Kalampatzom conduction line stream crossing. Men from Kalampatzom packing sand and gravel to spring and tank sites Unloading tubing for Kalampatzom pipe line During early December, Diego and I gave a training session to the Water For People Staff from Santa Cruz Del Quiche along with another of the NGOs they support. The training consisted of a presentation of the designs for lavamanos, latrines, and ferro cement tanks that we are building in various projects.
The presentation was followed up with a visit to the sites of these constructions. Arrangements were made to assist a Peace Corps volunteer in Chiquimula during January to complete a water project field study and design. PROJECTS Rotary International approved a grant to the Port Townsend Rotary from Washington State and the Rotary Club Sur of Guatemala City for the construction of the Batzaja water system in Nebaj with Agua Para La Salud.
This project will begin in Feb. 2008 at a cost of about $30,000.00 with support from the Agua Para La Salud fonteneros (circuit riders). Ted Kuepper of Global Water made two commitments to projects.
The first is $10,000.00 for the El Mirador project in Nebaj. The total project cost is $24,000.00. We are seeking the balance of the project from other agencies.
Water For People may contribute $7,000.00 to this project. Global also committed $2000.00 to a Healthy Schools project in Momostenango for a rain storage system in a Peace Corps Healthy Schools project. Lynn Roberts
