Report: Water and Sanitation in Nicaragua 2008

Construction of water and sanitation projects in Nueva España, El Sauce, Nicaragua.

All projects in Nueva España have been completed according to plan. 139 people benefited from improved access to water and sanitation. We are just waiting for a final well picture to close this project.

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 in Jan-March, transplant in the rainy season May-June, 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 the best 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