Day 28 – Wednesday 6/29/2011

Today the volunteers from the colonia came through in full force. One of the women who had been unable to come on Tuesday had rounded up two other women and their children and met us at Pastor Ubence's church, ready to work. In total there were three women and about ten children. We were also fortunate to have the help of one of the older boys from the photography group. We all met up at around 9am and headed to the site of the 2nd check dam, which we decided to place about a hundred feet above the first dam. We started by explaining the steps involved in constructing the dam, discussed safety, and then dove into our work. Within a few hours the volunteers and their children had rounded up most of the rocks we would need and the ditch had been cleared out to make room for the rocks. With the sun beat down upon us, we made numerous trips to the two pulperias (convenience stores) across the street from us to by water and other refreshments. The team learned the precise method for filling plastic baggies full of drinks, tying a knot in them in just the right spot, and biting off one corner of the baggie to get at the delicious liquid inside. We were again grateful to Ricardo's pulperia for storing our tools in his home/shop and loaning us the large steel pipe that we used to bend the rebar. We were also grateful for the drinks he provided to the team and volunteers.

The rock shown above was stubborn and unwilling to move, but with pick axes, crowbars, and a lot of effort the team and volunteers were able to overcome its strength. The space left behind was refilled with a much larger rock, which would help to reinforce the sides of the dam.

By around 130pm the group and team had completed the project. We all felt extremely proud as we gathered around to take this photo.  Afterwards, we gave a bag with rice, beans, plantains, salt, and manteca vegetal (vegetable lard) to each family represented. The women told us that they enjoyed learning how to build the dam and made sure we had their phone numbers stored in our phone, emphasizing that they were at our disposal if we ever needed them. 

It was a good day.

Day 27 - Tuesday 6/28/11

Today, we built a check dam. We had hoped to have three or four volunteers that could work with us and see how the dams are built, but two canceled and the other two didn’t show up. No worries. Fortunately, one of the missionaries who is visiting from Georgia asked Enrique if he could help out with our project. We are immensely grateful for his help! The site we chose was located at the top of the road that ends below the 65,000 gallon tank. It was a prime spot with exposed PVC and deep cutting from erosion. As we worked, people gathered to see what we were doing. The owner of pulpería Ricardo, which was located across the street from the dam site, came out to check things out. At first, he told us that he could only help out a little because he was very busy, but I guess he was motivated by what we were doing and ended up staying with us and helping us dig and haul rock. Most endearing for us was the help we received from a group of about seven or eight children who lived in the area. As we began digging into the ditch, the kids stood above us, watching curiously. Mercedes asked two children standing nearby, a seven year-old girl and a chubby little four year old boy, if they wanted to help. Soon, all the children were running from one end of the street to the next looking for rocks, piling them into a wheel barrow we had borrowed from another neighbor, and dropping load after load by our work site. Their strength was impressive. We sincerely could not have gathered up as much rock in so short a time without their help. The entire process took about four hours, but we should be able to get the next one done in about two hours or so. We dug the dam trench, laid out the chicken wire, reinforcing it with rebar and placed long, large stones equally spaced along the trench. We have some great pictures of Josh Schwarzeneggering a few a baby boulders into their new home in the dam and children hauling rocks up the road.

It was very tiring work, but a check dam is now in place. The primary purpose of the structure is to slow down the water as it pours down the colonia valley during the rainy season. Hopefully, this will aid in reducing erosion cutting and help to cover up the exposed water line. We need to get together with either members of the patronato or LW4R to get updates on the effectiveness of the check dams. If it works, we can plan to do some more in future trips. If not, we’ll have to go back to the drawing board.

Later in the day, Mercedes went back to the colonia to work on the youth project. Unfortunately, Josh and McWane were a little undone by all the heavy lifting they had to do, so they stayed back to rest after a fairly brutal day’s work, which meant, unfortunately, that there won’t be any film footage of today’s photovoice project. The pictures that the kids are taking do not cease to amaze, nor does their ability to provide interesting analysis. Each week, Mercedes rounds the children up after a photo shoot to discuss the pictures they have taken and revise future plans with the kids. We learn A LOT about the colonia this way. One of the things we learned today through the kids’ pictures is that there is a house with a windmill on the roof that generates (though, apparently, cannot store) enough energy to power a television. In a country where electricity is 40-60 cents per kw hour (in Flagstaff we only pay 9-11 cents), that can potentially make a big difference. The kids are coming up with some interesting ways to use the photos and to transition to video. I look forward to what they come up with in the future. 

From Mercedes:

Today was day four of the photovoice project. The first hour or two was rough because I was still trying to recoup my energy after a morning of really hard work under the sun. Their only instruction today was to go out and take pictures of the things that they like about the colonia. We split into two different groups and off we went. Karen Clark went off with me and my group.

Because I am neither Honduran nor a resident of the colonia, I want the topics that we focus on to be driven by the kids as much as possible. The challenge is helping kids access this information and think critically about their environment. I have tried to scaffold the exercises I have them do in order to train their eyes and make them think a little more about composition. I think it is working because the pictures they take get more  and more interesting, as does their analysis. This weekend, I will have them choose their favorite pictures and do write ups on them. I had hoped to have them do that last week, but there just wasn't time.

I had not originally intended for children younger than 14 to be involved in the project, but I have a few children who quietly inserted themselves into it, and have become interesting additions. One little boy, in particular, a skinny little six year-old with a mean wink who haunts the neighborhood surrounding pastor Ubence's church, has started to become my second shadow. Everyone says the same thing about him: ese nino es muy travieso (that child is a troublemaker). But when I gave him a camera today and let him go free, I was amazed not only by how quiet and focused he became (Karen, Shannon's wife, commented about how serious his face got when he was taking pictures) but by the beauty of some of his pictures. One of my favorites is a picture he took of five children lined up at the counter of a soda/candy shop. The same was true for another little girl who has adopted herself into the group. Despite her young age, she has taken some truly beautiful pictures. Of course, these younger kids can't really verbalize the meaning behind these pictures. I just accept that they will take beautiful pictures and that the folks who view them will get it.

Day 26 - Monday 6/27/11

McWane went to the store to collect chicken wire, rebar, and some supplies for building the check dams. After collecting the supplies McWane went to the grocery store to collect groceries for the home and for the people that may be helping with the check dam.

We spent the first half of the day strategizing and doing data entry at the hotel. Then, in the afternoon, we hiked over to the colonia to collect the last of the trash bags that McWane distributed for the trash assessment. We decided it might not be a bad idea to list each item individually just to get a snap shot of  consumption practices in the community. It was actually an interesting exercise. We learned that people tend to have certain staples in their homes:

• Maseca corn flour
• Manteca vegetal (vegetable lard)
• Plantains
• Cubes of chicken or beef stock
• Rice
• Salt
• Sugar
• Instant noodle soup

We also learned that a lot of people are not composting, and they should - especially given how poor the soil is in Roatan. We complain a lot about having to do the trash analysis, but the reality is that it has given us some interesting data and a good excuse to go back and see people and neighborhoods we've already interviewed and see things we may not have picked up on the first time. In addition, three foreigners tramping around begging for trash tend to attract a lot of attention and curiosity, which boosts visibility.

Trash collection and assessment from house #10 below.

Day 25 - Sunday 6/26/11

Today, we got a much needed break - and not just a day to relax at the apartment, cooking and chatting between bursts of paperwork and testing. It took us a while to get in gear, but, finally, at around 10:30 in the morning, we hopped a taxi to West End. We spent about an hour goofing off in the water, which was just the right temperature. Then, on the recommendation of some other colonia do-gooders  that we bumped into when we arrived in West End, we rented some kayaks. Unfortunately, they were too small for Josh, who paddled his way back to shore after capsizing three times in the first ten minutes:) McWane and Mercedes went out just past the coral rocks that surround the beach and took some pictures. In a few spots, the coral was so high that our kayaks scraped the tops (I know, I know that's really bad for the coral). From the boats you could tell how beautiful it had to be under the water. Every now and then, I got a glimpse of a massive growth of brain coral or beautiful purple coral. Had we had time, I'd have rented snorkle gear and jumped in. McWane says the reef truly is a beautiful sight. We only got to spend about four hours in West End before we had to hustle back to shower and attend a meeting of the patronato of Policarpo. It was just enough time, however, to perk everyone back up and get us excited about our research again. 

McWane was able to complete water testing on a sample from the creek that flows through the colonia as well as the water sample taken from house #11. Sample below.

 

Day 24 - Saturday 6/25/11

McWane and Mercedes went to the colonia to collect trash from 2 seperate houses. When they got back to the apartment McWane started sifting through the trash and weighing different categories. Josh and Mercedes went into the colonia to do the youth project with the kids. McWane did calculations for the water tank, water system, and e. coli testing on water samples. Picture of the e. coli test shown below.

The water testing for house #11 shows a concentration of 1.47 califorms per milliliter of water. This is not necessarily harmful for the person drinking the water, although it can indicate the presence of other bacteria that may be present.


From Mercedes:

Today was day three of the photovoice project. We mostly did housekeeping. We spent the first hour and a half or so uploading pictures from the camera and saving them in folders. Those who had time named their pictures in order to be able to identify them more quickly in the future. In the next class, they will add the date to the title. It took as long as it did because the computer directions are in English and most had never uploading pictures before. In fact, a few of the kids had no clue how to operate the mouse. Thus, the time we spent uploading pictures was well worth it because the kids got to work on their computer skills. After that, I showed the kids a few YouTube videos from that had been posted by similar projects. One was about a project in Kenya that gave cameras to children so that they could document what it was like being caretakers for ill and indigent parents/guardians. The other was a video produced by a Keiser-Permanente project that documented aspects of city life that discouraged people from making healthy eating and living choices. I showed these videos to give our participants concrete examples of how to tell a story, send a message, and effect change through photography. We followed this with a discussion about the things that they liked and disliked about life in the colonia in order to get deeper into the issues that we want to focus on.

Day 23 - Friday 6/24/2011

Now that we had been on the general tour of the island, it was time for the up close and personal touch. A local island woman who is working in bilingual education and conservation took Josh, Mcwane and Mercedes on a walking tour of the island. The team bused to Coxen Hole where their friend took them to interview some of the older black islanders who remembered what island life was like before Hurricane Mitch. They had a chance to try some more of the local fare, and met with some important community leaders. One of the people they interviewed was the Police Chief of the Roatán police force.

After Coxen Hole they made their way to Flowers Bay, where they had a chance to sit with three older islanders sitting in the shade of a gazebo. The men were very friendly and open about the history of the island, including an anecdote about how Flowers Bay invented “The Mccoy,” a famous Roatan dish. One of the men at the table cut a cluster of coconuts from his tree, cut them into cups and let us have some fresh coconut water. It was delicious and well appreciated.

The team wished a good day to the men and moved on to the Patronato of Flowers Bay. He welcomed us to sit at a table on the beach of his business and the team interviewed him over the sound of the water lapping on the shore. He gave the team insight into the needs of his community and places of real concern where they might be able to help.

Finally, the team took a taxi to Punta Gorda, a 45 minute ride. Our guide walked the team to Englishtown. This small community hosts a small school that is still under construction. The roof of the current kindergarten classroom leaks terribly and the rest of the school building is without any covering.

The rest of Punta Gorda showed signs of need, as well. The community is divided into several barrios, or neighborhoods. McWane, Josh, Mercedes, and their host walked along the beach and saw some fishermen. Then, they went to the Punta Gorda community center and talked with the community leaders about their issues.

The team ended the day with a final taxi ride to Coxen Hole and a bus ride back to the hotel. It was a tiring day, but an eye opener full of information and possibilities about the future of the island.

Day 22 – Thursday 6/23/2011

Today, Josh and Mercedes did a tour of the island to get a better understanding of where future programs could be implemented and to get a better picture of how the island really is from East to West End. Enrique drove us in his truck. The trek started at the Pirate’s Den, wound through West End, and Flowers Bay, then through Coxen Hole, across the island to Oak Ridge and finally through Punta Gorda. We were able to gather information about local hotels and resorts where future groups could stay, hardware, lumber and paint stores on the island, supermarkets and restaurants and other communities where help could be brought.

There are four communities with severe poverty and vast need that we identified. Not that there aren’t a myriad more to be helped, but these four were the ones we saw.

Flowers Bay sits at the South West side of the island, not faar from Keyhole Bay and just West of Coxen Hole. There is an orphanage there which we thought would be a great place to analyze education needs. There are clearly several community issues there that could take easily more than a five year program to help.

Coxen Hole is another community, ironically placed right between both the Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line docks. Millions of tourists have moved through this community year in and year out, but the community is clearly suffering from poverty and need. Again, a five year program could make a difference there.

Oak Ridge is a fishing community about three quarters of the way down the island on the South side. This community is so impoverished that it made the colonia look like Beverly Hills. There were many houses on stilts, some that were leaning and looked like they may fall into the water at any moment. Still, jutting from the landside were wealthy homes with bay views and nice cars parked out front, resting on the hills not a stone’s throw from the impoverished below.

Finally, Punta Gorda is a community of native islanders descended from the black slaves and the native Indians of the island. They speak their own language, practice their own religion, and have kept their cultural values in tact through the changing environment on the island.

While Mercedes and Josh were out gathering data on the island, Mcwane and Shannon met with an islander and she allowed us to communicate with the people of the colonia. They all headed to the colonia to complete surveys on house#18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24. Later that evening the host made us dinner.

Day 21 – Wednesday 6/22/2011

                Josh, McWane, and Shannon talked about the energy consumption audit, then headed to meet Walley. After talking to Walley about the Photovoltaic system they left and headed back to the apartment. At 2pm McWane, Josh, and Mercedes headed to the colonia to do surveys on 8 different houses. They completed surveys on houses #10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. Shown below is house #10 at the top of one of the ridges in the colonia.

After doing surveys at each these houses we moved on to collect trash from houses #3, 4, and 5. Upon return to the apartment, McWane started searching through trash for houses #3, 4, and 5. Below is house #3.

The results from this trash assessment are shown below.

Overall Weight (Ibs)	Paper (Ib)	Metal (Ib)	Food Waste (Ib)	Glass	Biological	Styrofoam
15.25	0.68	0.43	5	1.875	0.9	0.1875

Plastic (Ib)	Rubber/Leather	Textile	Wood/Yard
2	0.406	0.375	3.4

Day 19 - Mon 6.20.2011

We began the morning in the colonia doing three surveys in sector Ubence (the street just past Ubence's church on the left). We determined a much better method for completing as many surveys as possible and for taking advantage of the guys' time. Originally, we were going to each home as a group and Josh and McWane would have to sit and wait for Mercedes to finish the verbal survey, which took two to three times as long as the energy, trash, and water surveys. Instead, we selected 3 houses, and then went to each explaining what the process would entail. This way, the guys were able to go back without me and do what they needed to do. Fortunately, they have picked up enough Spanish since they've gotten here that they can express basic ideas. Mercedes was also able to provide them a few stock expressions that they can use to let people know what they needed when they knocked at the door. Not surprisingly, we have found that poorer homes tend to have less trash; we have also noticed that a lot of people burn their trash, plastic and all. Unaware that the chemicals in the plastic release into the air, most think they are doing the environment and their families a favor since the garbage is not going into the city dump or winding up in the streets or streams. We've tried to discourage this as much as possible. The surveys also afford us the opportunity to let people know if their water storage system is effective at preserving chlorine levels. We've run across a few houses with zero chlorine. By and large, these water samples come from containers that are not well sealed.

At 4pm, Mercedes went to a meeting with several Policarpo patronato leaders; the partronatos serve as a board of trustees for their colonia, working as link between the residents and the local government. Part way in, Shannon and McWane joined the meeting. The team got to learn about the patronato's goals for the community and to share some of their conclusions and plans. The meeting revealed that much of what we would like to do is in line with the patronato's plans. They indicated that English and computer classes are a priority, as is reforesting the main water passage through the colonia. The president indicated that she would like to line the path with fruit trees that all can pick from. She would like to name it the “Quebrada Milagrosa (the miraculous stream).” They are also interested in the idea of installing a few check dams. The patronato leaders had something a little different in mind. Where as we proposed small dams that would slow the water down and help to build up the silt behind them to reduce further erosion, the design they proposed was more like a stair step that would permit people to have a safe place to walk in the usually dry-sometimes flooding streambed, given how narrow the adjacent road is. We will evaluate their ideas to see if it can be incorporated into some type of effective erosion control structures.

Josh, McWane and Shannon met with Marvin, the water system manager, along with Henry and Enrique to go over the drinking water usage analysis we prepared. We compared the amount of water their 3 wells can produce verses the amount of water needed each day. We were able to show the water system needs to produce 10,000 gallons on some days and up to 25,000 gallons on other days, which means the well pumps have to run an average of 16 hours every day to keep up. The system delivers water to only a few neighborhoods in the colonia each day; a household currently gets water once every 8 days. The chlorine disinfectant added to the water usually dissipates in 5-6 days, leaving the remaining water in each household’s storage barrels at risk of contamination. We are assisting the water committee with planning a new well to be drilled this summer and further analyzing the capacity of their water pipe system, which will help achieve their goal of reducing the water delivery interval to every 3 days.

Day 18 - Sunday 6/19/2011

At around 9:30 in the morning, Enrique picked Mercedes up so she could see the rice and beans distribution system. While in the colonia, she got to meet the president and secretary of the Policarpo colonia and set an appointment to meet with them. Monday at 4pm.

In the evening, Josh, Mercedes, and McWane went into the colonia to pick up Elias's trash and to complete a household survey with him. While we waited for Elias to get home, we filled out a survey with his father, who is a true jack of all trades: artist, musician, gardener, socialite, politician…He has been a good resource. Interestingly, he informed us that he learned about bamboo when the UN visited Honduras to offer recommendations regarding sustainability.

Later in the evening, Trey stopped by to chat with us. He spoke at length about how annoyed the locals are about the mainland "invasion." This seems to be one of the biggest issues right now, one that impacts a lot of people. It seems increasingly important that we find ways to involve locals in our projects. This means we are going to have to do a lot more travelling to get to the other communities to do assessment. Fortunately, we were given the name of a promising contact who we will hopefully be able to speak with soon.

Day 17 - Saturday 6/18/2011

From Mercedes:

Miss Peggy is truly, truly a God-send. Not everyone who does fieldwork in remote locations has the good fortune of having a first-class health clinic just around the corner. Thanks to her care, I was able to get quickly back on my feet after a bout of dehydration brought on by motion sickness and perhaps some food that didn't sit too well in my stomach. Despite the late start, the photovoice group went well. It helps that I didn't have to teach feeling like death warmed over. I've taught while sick on numerous occasions, but it's not my favorite thing to do.

My biggest challenge with photovoice will be getting the children out of their shells and talking freely. I got a lot of blank stares and shrugged shoulders when I asked things like "What do you like about your community?" and "What do you dislike?" As class progressed, however, they opened up more and more. A couple are clearly more vocal than others, but for now that is a good thing because I can use them as a foundation upon which to draw out the rest of the kids. On Tuesday, I think I'll start by having the kids take pictures of objects that represent them and then having them come back and share with the rest of the group. The great thing about photography is that what children find difficult to verbally express, they are often able to convey through pictures, so the cameras will be a solution in themselves.

Meanwhile McWane, Shannon, and Josh went with Dale, Sam, and Ken to the Hospital Roatán. The conditions of this place are nothing like the conditions of a hospital in the US. The hospital had beds and equipment from the 1980s. The Conditions seemed unsanitary, although it was acceptable to the island. The trip to the hospital was a realization that if someone gets hurt really bad they could die!

After the visit to the hospital in Coxen Hole Josh and McWane headed back to Pirate’s Din to pick up Mercedes to go do the Photovoice project at Sand Castle Library. They went to pick up Mercedes then to the colonia to pick up all of the kids. When they arrived, Miss Peggy said that she could help Mercedes by giving her fluids to rehydrate her. Josh and McWane took all of the kids to the Sand Castle library and started setting up the projector and computer.  McWane and Josh talked to the kids in English while Emmy and Ki helped translate all of their nonsense. Finally after 30 minutes of messing around on the computer and trying to figure the whole project out Mercedes showed up. McWane left and went to meet Dale, Sam, and Ken to have lunch. After the photovoice project finished they returned to pick up Josh and Mercedes.

Day 16 – Friday 6/17/2011

McWane and Shannon headed to the colonia at 9 am to meet Oscar. Oscar served as the translator for them for a half day. McWane, Shannon, and Oscar headed up to a section of the colonia and interviewed 3 owners of 3 separate houses. At each house they asked questions about the water that the family stores, the electricity the family uses, tested the water supply the family uses for drinking, and they gave each family a garbage bag to put there waste in.

            After interviewing 3 families, McWane, Shannon, Oscar, and Victor went up the to the 65,000 gallon tank on the top of the hill. They met with the women living next to the tank to see her brother. They had given her brother a garbage bag 6 days prior. After they collected the trash Victor and Oscar took McWane down to a farm on the other side of the colonia. The farm had sugar cane, mangos, and other various fruits. They acquired a sugar cane stalk and ate it as they walked. They traveled back down to the bottom of the hill and went to well #2 and measured the amperage and voltage being used for the pump at the bottom of the well. The voltage was measured to be 230 volts and the amperage was measured to be 14 amps. Later McWane measured the waste that was in the garbage that was collected.

            This garbage is the second trash assessment and the results are shown below:

Overall Weight (Ibs)	Paper	Metal	Food Waste	Plastic	Rubber/Leather	Wood/Yard	Styrofoam
7.5	0.25 Ib	0.25 Ib	5.75 Ib	0.67 Ib	0.28 Ib	0.25 Ib	0.0468 Ib

           
           In the meantime, the team on the mainland spent the morning at Hospital San Isidro, referred to as Hospital Tocoa by locals. We began by meeting with hospital administrators to determine the training and equipment needs of the hospital and its doctors, and then got a tour of the hospital. Ken, Dale, and Mercedes scrubbed in for a review of the hospital’s operating room. Josh got some great film footage, and Mercedes got her first opportunity to do formal translating. Did you know that gall bladder is translated as vesícula biliar? Try saying that for the first time in a crowded room with all eyes on you. Better yet, try saying opthalmólogo, or cirugía laparascópica.

            Before our return, we met once again with the mayor and his wife at Restaurante Caribbean to have sopa marinera, an amazing, traditional Garifuna dish, loaded with just about every type of seafood one can think of. Both the mayor and his wife spoke very proudly and fondly of the Garifuna presence in Honduras and in their city. They informed us that after hurricane Mitch, about 600 Garifuna relocated to Tocoa.

            Fortunately, on the strong suggestion of locals, who warned that the trip from La Ceiba back to Roatán was even more tumultuous than the trip to La Ceiba, Dale purchased return tickets through Sosa airlines. The tickets weren’t much more expensive than the first-class tickets on the Ferry. Though the flight was a little cramped, and there was no air-conditioning, it was only 30 minutes, as opposed to 1½ hours on the Vomit Comet and was fairly smooth.

Day 15 – Thursday 6/16/2011

           Mercedes spent the early morning contacting parents of children from Pastor Ubence’s youth group who had signed up to participate in the photovoice project. Then, she and Josh headed to the colonia in the pouring rain to meet with the parents in person and gain their informed consent. Those Rite in the Rain notebooks were worth the investment (at about $20 for a little binder and refill paper, they weren’t cheap); writing with liquid ink, however, is not such a good idea. With little time to spare, Mercedes and Josh obtained the last signature and headed home to grab their bags and meet Dale and Sam. Our team loaded into the truck, scooped up Dr. Ken Balie, SOS’s medical director, at Roatán International Airport, and then made its way to the entrance to the Galaxy Ferry dock, located just past a large rusted out ship that had run aground close to shore. Tickets to La Ceiba were relatively reasonable. First class tickets ran $32, and the trip took about 1½ hours. Very quickly, however, Mercedes learned why the Galaxy Ferry had been nicknamed the “Vomit Comet.” She resigned herself to leaning against the ship’s outdoor side rail for the remainder of the trip (so much for first class), thankful for the fresh air and the salty sea spray that helped to ease her stomach a bit.

Upon arriving in La Ceiba, our team, consisting of Dale, Sam, Ken, Josh, and Mercedes, was greeted by Engineer, Héctor Chacón, Director of Water Missions International’s Honduras office and the organization’s Coordinator for Latin America. As Hector drove us to our final destination, Tocoa, he told us a bit about his organization and the lush, green countryside that rushed past our windows. We also got the opportunity to stop and tour one of the water stations that his organizations had helped to build and to speak with the woman in charge of water distribution and maintenance of the system. Water Missions International does work much like that of LW4R, though on a much larger scale (they are present in about 42 countries). Like folks in the Sandy Bay colonias, people in the community we stopped at also get water (not potable) piped directly to their homes. Water Missions International builds stations where residents can get purified, chlorinated drinking water for 5 Lempiras (25¢). People in the Sandy Bay colonia, on the other hand, reported to us that they pay 32 Lempiras (about $1.50) per bottle to have potable water delivered to their homes by a private company. This is significant when you consider that $1.50 is roughly the hourly minimum wage on the island (even more significant when considering the high level of unemployment, 40-50%, in the community). We all agreed that Water Mission’s model might be a good one for LW4R to consider. The only catch is that with the Water Mission’s International model, residents have to find a way to transport the water to their homes or the distribution centers have to determine ways of delivering water to the homes.

After a stunning hour and a half ride, the team stopped at the Hotel Sanabria to freshen up a bit before going to the Restaurante Caribbean, where they had the honor of sharing dinner with the mayor of Tacoa, Héctor Hernandez, and his wife. Part-way through dinner, Hernandez presented Dale with a key to the city that had been mounted on a large wooden plaque. It was quite an experience. 

Day 14 - Wed 6.15.2011

Josh and Shannon spent the morning doing an inventory of the colonia water system equipment at all 3 wells and the booster pump station. This information will be used to determine the overall electrical usage of the water system in order to design a photovoltaic system that will help decrease their exorbitant electric bill.  McWane performed water quality testing on two of the wells supplying water to the system to determine the levels of chlorine, nitrate, iron, alkalinity and hardness.  Josh, Mercedes, and McWane then spent the afternoon visiting colonia households with the survey they prepared yesterday. 

Day 13 - Tues 6.14.2011

Dale and the GPP Team met this morning with Ms. Peggy, the director of Clinica Esperanza near the colonia, to discuss possible collaboration between the clinic and the medical professionals that Dale works with on other aid missions.  They can provide additional training to the staff that works at the Clinica and bring medical supplies. Later the team prepared a survey to ask a representative sample of colonia households some questions about composting, trash, electricity usage, number of people living in the household, their ages and occupation. Josh and McWane will use this data for a class project on energy use and solid waste issues in the colonia.

Shannon went along with a LW4R volunteer team, here for the week from Pensacola, FL, that assembled and distributed free water filter units to some households in the Bella Vista colonia that is adjacent to Policarpo. Through an interpreter, each family was given a demonstration on how to use the filter and clean it. Hundreds of these filters have been distributed over the last year by these volunteer teams. Water is stored at most households in open top barrels and usually becomes contaminated between the days they get water to refill their barrels. The filters can purify a few gallons of water at a time for drinking and cooking purposes.