Water Filter Distribution in Campo Acosta, Mexico

Every member of the Rotary Club of Jamestown should be very proud of our participation in this great project. Members of the Rotary Club of Jamestown teamed with 11 other Rotary Clubs in America, Canada, and Mexico to support Rotary’s Area of Focus of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, by providing poor rural communities in Jalisco, Mexico with a long-term solution of sustainable equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water as well as improving community hygiene knowledge, behavior and practices that help prevent the spread of disease in these rural communities.  

One obvious solution to the lack of clean water problem is to buy bottled water for the family. But bottled water is extremely expensive. A family can easily spend over fifty pesos per day (approx. $2.90), when the average daily wage is only 100 to 200 pesos per day. As soon as a child is old enough to work, the parents remove them from school to go to work to help support the family financially. This project can save the family enough money to keep their children in school or keep the family healthy so that the parents can work and keep the children in school.

Ken Reiser, of the West Chester/Liberty Rotary Club of southwest Ohio, has been working on this Water Filter Project with the Puerto Vallarta Sur Rotary Club for about 10 years. Over that time, they have distributed filters to over 4,000 families. In the past, they were successful in obtaining a Global Grant from RI. RI will no longer approve the project as a global grant and suggest the clubs apply for district grants. Presently there are four clubs contributing $5,000 or more and 8 to 10 clubs contributing whatever they can. The number of Rotarians attending each of the four distributions per year varies from 8 to 20 and they work alongside local partners “Proyecto Aqua Limpia” and “Tomatlenses Unidos”. Rural communities in Jalisco are surveyed for need and locals are pre-registered to assure maximum participation and success of the distribution events.

On January 19, approximately 20 Rotarians from the United States, Canada and Mexico and their partners drove two and a half hours south into the mountains to Campo Acosta for a well-organized and attended distribution of Sawyer International Bucket Systems (costing $50 each) donated by the Rotary Clubs represented. The low cost, long-lasting, gravity fed water filtration system is used where centralized community clean water solutions are less effective, or unavailable. It can filter up to 170 gallons of water per day for 10+ years with only routine filter back flow maintenance, resulting in a long-term solution to clean water that community members are able to support on their own.

The very orderly group of residents waited patiently while the volunteers went to their assigned stations. The residents were called forward in groups of 10 to 20 and handed in their registration and received their filter (each registrant was responsible for bringing a clean, five-gallon bucket). Volunteers drilled a hole in the bucket; another station assembled the filter and then each group waited for instructions on how to use, cleanse the filter and trouble shoot any problems. The instructors filtered dirty water as an example and then drank that water to show the residents all was clean.

175 filters were distributed to the Mexicans in approximately two and a half hours and the volunteers were treated to wonderful smiles and handshakes before returning to Puerto Vallarta. It was a remarkable success.

Distributions of additional water filters are scheduled for February and March as well.

Sue and Greg Jones (susanjones369@gmail.com), representing our club and our $1,500 donation, participated in the program.

We wish you all could have been there…it was truly rewarding (except for the long ride sitting over the axle of an old van with no shock absorbers)!

Filter recipients receiving instructions.

 

Filter recipients patiently waiting for their number to be called.

 

Past this little lady’s nap time!

 

Sue collecting registrations and Greg handing out filters.

 

Volunteers drilling holes for the filters.

 

Volunteers assembling filters.

 

Final assembly, putting filters into 5-gallon receptacles.