Report: Water and Sanitation Projects in El Sauce, Nicaragua 2007

Building 1 new well, 2 well rehabilitations, and 58 latrines in Las Mesitas, Las Pilas, Valle San Antonio in El Sauce, Nicaragua

Update July 20, 2007: The new well in Las Pilas is complete, and the well rehabilation in Las Mesitas is underway.

Update October, 2007. All projects are complete. Las Mesitas, Las Pilas wells and the latrines in Las Pilas. The well in Valle San Antonio, the community rehabilitated it themselves without El Porvenir.

Well project beneficiaries pay for repairs as needed by community collection.

After project construction, water project communities are invited to participate in reforestation. Those who want to do so will develop seedling nurseries, transplant in the rainy season, and maintain the plantations under barbed wire fence and "no burn" protection for three years minimum. Reforestation project includes construction of fuel-saving, smoke-free stoves in the homes of reforestation participants (and eventually others). Community health educators will visit all projects after construction to teach hygience (handwashing e.g.) and encourage ongoing maintenance and repair of all projects, strengthen local committees, etc.

In order to measure the impact of our projects, we collect data several times a year from clinics serving rural districts where we have a high concentration of projects: number of visits due to diarrhea, etc. As the number decreases we feel that hygiene education has been effective.

For further information, please review our web site: http://www.elporvenir.org