Greetings from CONAPAC in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest! You are receiving our email NewsNote because of your interest in CONAPAC and/or Adopt-A-School.
Amanda Connell and Anne Wrobetz, both graduate students from the University of Colorado-Boulder, were in-country for four weeks during July and August. They spent 21 consecutive days out at the lodges, visiting 15 different communities in order to execute community surveys. Results show—as expected—that some water plants function all the time while others either lapse here and there or are completely non-functional. Overall usage rates continue to increase, with an average of 85% of households responding “always†when asked how often they drink treated water. Those who live more than 30 minutes away say they are less likely to do so.
First bucketfuls from the new water treatment plant at partner community Jorge Chávez
The overall quality of the water treated by the plants was relatively good, with 92% of the plants meeting Peruvian and World Health Organization (WHO) quality standards for drinking water. However, improper handling at the household level resulted in recontamination and unsafe drinking water. Continued user and operator training are a must in order to move forward with our water monitoring program. Operators often leave or rotate out without a proper transfer of knowledge. James Pasmiño and his assistants have been making weekly rounds to all 28 water plants in our partner communities since the end of our Service Project season. One-on-one training for operators occurs during each visit as we continue the teaching/monitoring phase of our water program.
Clean, pure water from the water treatment plant
The full final report is available at: conapac.org/2014_water_audit_report_10-11-14.pdf The students will be translating the report into Spanish so that everyone on the CONAPAC team can learn from their findings.
The full final report is available at: conapac.org/2014_water_audit_report_10-11-14.pdf The students will be translating the report into Spanish so that everyone on the CONAPAC team can learn from their findings.
CONAPAC's James Pasmiño and assistant at the filtering system
Andrea Asipali Update:
Our Rotary Exchange scholar from Palmeras II is settling in nicely at her new home in Fremont, Michigan. Andrea quickly joined the girls’ volleyball team—every woman in Peru plays excellent volley—so we expect she’ll be quite an asset to the team. She also attended her first prom at a US high school. What a lovely young woman she has become. Good luck, Andrea, in all you do!
Andrea and her Michigan host sister, Sierra Baird, in their prom night finery
We are partnered with Pack for a Purpose to better assist you with a suggested list of donations that you can carry down. If you find yourself traveling to the Amazon rainforest and staying with Explorama Lodges, take a look at their site.
National Geographic Traveler has announced Rebecca Rothney as a 2014 Traveler of the Year. Rebecca is the founder, chairperson and driving force behind Pack for a Purpose, the non-profit organization that makes it easy for travelers to pack requested supplies for community projects at their destinations across the globe.
CONAPAC has been been providing access to clean water in the Peruvian rainforest since 2008. Our Family Water Project places Sawyer PointONEâ„¢ water filtration systems in individual homes in smaller communities where a large water treatment plant is impractical.
A gift of $195 will supply one household. Over 175 families (households) are still waiting to receive their water treatment systems and clean water.
CONAPAC is a Peruvian non-profit organization whose mission is to promote conservation of the rainforest through education of its stewards, the people who live along the Amazon and Napo Rivers. Our centerpiece project is the Adopt-A-School program, which is strengthened by workshops and complemented by service and sustainable projects in river communities.
