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Pueblo a Pueblo Blog

Right from Santiago Atitlán to your computer. Your window into our world. Thanks for reading and comments are welcome! ​

Filtering Water in the Rainy Season

5/30/2017

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It’s the rainy season in Guatemala, when unexpected downpours leave the landscape vibrant and green. However, despite the abundant rainfall, sources of potable water remain scarce in rural communities. But outside the Pueblo a Pueblo office in Santiago Atitlan, along with the dripping of the rain, you can hear the clicking noises from a repurposed strainer -- an old fan grill overlapped with mesh. Pablo Eulogio, our Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools Project Manager, is carefully sifting coffee grounds through the strainer. He then moves on to sifting clay. These are the first steps in the process of creating a water filter. In about a month, after all the mixing, molding, and drying of the coffee and clay has been completed, we will have a safe source of purified water to drink.
Picture
Pablo holding the completed water filter
Pablo began to work on these water filters with Pueblo a Pueblo a year ago, after spending some time with the organization Abundant Water in Laos. While there, he first learned to make these filters, and thanks to the generosity of Abundant Water, Pablo has brought this technology to Guatemala.

What makes these filters special is that the process is simple. “You don’t have to be an engineer to make them, so any community could access this technology and clean their drinking water,” Pablo explains. The accessibility of the filters is critical, especially in communities throughout rural Guatemala, where many people do not have secure sources of purified water.
Picture
Pablo mixes the coffee grounds and clay together
“When we visit the schools, we see children drinking water directly from the tap. But when we tested this tap water, the results indicated traces of E. coli bacteria -- and the pathogenic strains can cause diarrhea and stomach cramps, among other intestinal illnesses,” Pablo adds. It’s a health risk that must be addressed.

So began the process of replicating Abundant Water’s filters in Guatemala. The principal ingredients are coffee grounds and clay -- materials that are readily available in rural parts of the country. Then the tools -- a sifter, rolling pin, and cylindrical molds -- were repurposed from everyday household items.
Picture
Repurposed tools for the water filters, now covered in coffee grounds and clay
The coffee and clay work as a barrier in the filter, trapping the bacteria in the tap water. Then the power ingredient -- silver nitrate -- is added at the end of the process, killing the trapped bacteria. These elements work together to purify water, and our most recent lab tests show that this filtered water is clean and safe to drink.

​With working filters, our WASH team is now trying to find a way to bring this technology to our beneficiary schools. “We want these filters available in common areas throughout the schools, so that students are drinking purified water during recess time, rather than from the tap,” Pablo explains. “The goal is that all communities have accessible drinking water”.

Picture
Pablo and Jemima, our Project Assistant, are testing out the filtered water
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Building on Success

5/15/2017

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After classes end for the day at Chukmuk Primary School, a small group of students circle back to the library for an afternoon filled with games, stories, and puzzles. “Today is tutoría day!” (tutoring day) exclaims Maria Isabela, a fourth grade student.

Last month, our Primary Education Scholarships Project officially launched tutoring sessions for the 2017 school year. Although the scholarships project began in 2006, our team added the tutoring component in 2016.
Picture
Students are greeted by a sign that says "bienvenidos" (welcome) as they enter the classroom
In communities throughout rural Guatemala, children face many barriers to a good education. There are limited school resources, overcrowded classrooms, and under trained teachers. With difficult economic conditions and underfunded schools, struggling students are often left behind. The result is persistent illiteracy, high grade repetition, and low levels of schooling (ENCOVI).
Picture
Salvador and Diego Elias, students at Chukmuk Primary School, at their tutoring session
“Through our monitoring and evaluation results, and our meetings with teachers, we realized that some of our sponsored students needed a little more support in class,” explained Johanny Quieju, the project manager. “That’s when we began to develop one-on-one tutoring services.” 

“When students fall behind in class, schools here don’t have the resources to support these children. Students then stop attending school, or even drop out,” Johanny adds. Students in our Primary Education Scholarships Project get individualized attention from Isabela Chichom, Pueblo a Pueblo’s Project Tutor.
Picture
Isabela leads a tutoring session focused on Spanish
Currently, Pueblo a Pueblo offers tutoring services in three subjects--Spanish, math, and science, for students between fourth and fifth grades. This year, 11 sponsored students are enrolled in the tutoring sessions at Chukmuk and Panabaj Primary Schools.

​“I feel like I’m doing well in tutoría,
” says Franco Ramirez, fourth grader at Chukmuk Primary School. “Whenever I don’t understand something, I can ask Ms. Isabela for help. I feel more confident in class now.”

Picture
Franco explains a short article he read on nutrition
For Isabela Chichom, she’s encouraged by the development of Pueblo a Pueblo’s tutoring sessions. “We’re excited to see tutoría grow over the next few years, so that more students can get the support they need to succeed.”
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Guatemala Office
Cantón Tzanjuyú 
Santiago Atitlán, Sololá 
(+502) 7721.7449 (Callers in Guatemala)
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Pueblo a Pueblo has been awarded GuideStar's 2019 Gold Seal for Transparency, meets the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability, and was named a finalist for the National Coffee Association's 2019 Origin Charity of the Year award.
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • OUR MISSION
    • OUR TEAM
    • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    • OUR SUPPORTERS >
      • COFFEE INDUSTRY PARTNERS
    • Annual Report
    • FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY >
      • AUDITS & FORMS 990
    • Partnership with Natik
    • Our COVID-19 Response
  • PROGRAMS
    • WHAT WE DO
    • WOMEN'S RIGHT TO HEALTH >
      • MATERNAL CHILD HEALTH
      • WOMEN'S HEALTH CHAMPIONS
    • SCHOOL HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND NUTRITION >
      • WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE IN SCHOOLS
      • PRIMARY EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS
      • PATHWAYS TO LITERACY
      • SCHOOL NUTRITION
      • ORGANIC TEACHING GARDEN
    • SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS >
      • BEEKEEPING
      • YOUTH LEADERSHIP
      • WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
  • BLOG
  • MULTIMEDIA
    • IN THE NEWS
    • PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
  • DONATE
  • CONTACT