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OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT:
Prevent and reduce the incidence of gastrointestinal and parasitic diseases in 160 rural households in El Retiro, San Luis del Café, Caracoral, El Café, Llano Grande and Bella Vista, comprising 84 senior citizens, 326 adults and 140 children; in circumstances of greater vulnerability in the municipality of Cañasgordas; due to the consumption of untreated water.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: (15 lines maximum)
The project will focus on rural families in the villages of San Luis del Café, El Retiro, Caracolal, Llano Grande, El Café and Bella Vista in the municipality of Cañasgordas, Antioquia.
It will also provide home-level water treatment systems to vulnerable households, accompanied by training sessions on the use and maintenance of these systems. Along with this training, there are topics related to hygiene practices, especially handwashing with soap and sanitation habits.
The home-level water treatment systems consist of a concrete bio-sand filter with its accessories, a safe storage container and a chlorine dispenser to disinfect the stored water. These filters are manufactured by the Montería II Rotary Club of district 4271, taking into account that they successfully manage the same program in their region.
The project includes training for the beneficiary families prior to the delivery of the filters; additionally, three visits, 1 installation visit and 2 follow-up visits to each filter placed in the home. This ensures the continuity of the project and its long-term use.
The members of the Rotary Club together with the E.S.E HOSPITAL SAN CARLOS of Cañasgordas and under medical supervision, will administer antiparasitic medications to the project participants.
PLEASE DESCRIBE: WHAT NEEDS DID YOU IDENTIFY?
The Rotary Club held several meetings with the community in which it was agreed to develop a survey which identified that the main problem was gastrointestinal and parasitic diseases due to water quality. This was supported by the results of the samples taken from the water source, which showed high microbiological and physical-chemical presences of coliforms and Escherichia coli and the recommendation by the water laboratory to treat the water for human consumption.
HOW WILL THE PROJECT MEET THESE NEEDS?
Through an awareness and education program on good hygiene and sanitation practices, a comprehensive deworming program will also be implemented, accompanied by the supply and delivery to each home of a biosand filter with all its accessories and a safe storage container for water. All of the above will be complemented with training aimed at the proper use, proper handling, maintenance of the filter and subsequent supervision of its implementation.
WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS PROJECT?
The beneficiaries of this project will be the inhabitants of six (6) villages in the municipality of Cañasgordas, which comprise approximately 550 people, including children, adults and seniors, as follows:
Early Childhood (0-5 years): 35; Adolescence (12-17 years): 49; Young Adult (18-26 years): 56; Adult (27-59 years): 228 and Senior Adults (>60): 98 (Among this sample, 50 female heads of household were identified)
SUSTAINABILITY: (explain how the project will continue to operate once the financial support you receive for this project ends)
Through the organization of the Rotary community development group, a board will be established that will establish conditions and regulations that will guarantee the sustainability of the filters, and that within its functions will ensure compliance with a minimum economic quota that will allow the equipment to be replenished with the minerals that it will need over time for its correct operation.
IS THE COMMUNITY INVOLVED? DESCRIBE THE ROLE OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY IN PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTINUITY.
The community is directly involved from the identification of the need and the entire process of implementation and execution of the project; to such an extent that the formation of a Rotary group for community development is already underway, who will be in charge of supervising and directly accompanying the beneficiaries in the community.
The community is aware of the importance of training in the correct use and maintenance of the equipment, in addition to keeping in mind that, due to the nature of its use, its mineral components are depleted, so it is necessary to guarantee the necessary economic resources to obtain and maintain an inventory of sands for recharging them.
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