• Clean water pouring out of a new well.

    Photo Credit: Forest Woodward

     

    Hand dug wells
  • Gravity flow systems
  • Water quality testing

Where we work, villagers obtain their drinking water from shallow, unlined, and uncovered hand-dug wells or open springs, often distant from their village. They draw water by dropping a bucket down into the well on a rope, contaminating the water with everything the bucket has touched. Many of these wells and springs dry up in the summer, meaning the women and children who carry water now have to walk even longer distances to other water sources.

Impact

  • Improve living standards in Nicaragua through lower incidences of water related diseases (e.g. diarrhea, skin infections, cholera, parasites, etc.) and mortalities.
  • Improve the lives of women and children who carry water great distances by helping them construct water projects closer to their homes
  • Improve productivity and educational opportunity for women and children by freeing time previously spent carrying water.

Hand-dug wells: With the help of El Porvenir, a community can build a hand-dug covered, sanitary well that will dramatically improve the life and health of the entire village. The community provides the labor to build the well. Many community members participate in the installation of the rope pump, the Nicaraguan Ministry of Water's standard for rural wells. El Porvenir health educators engage in a program of testing the water for bacteria and assist the community in taking remedial measures if needed.

Spring Capture Systems: El Porvenir provides the materials so that the community can build a concrete box around a natural spring to protect the water from dirt, debris, animals, and other contaminants. The box can be fitted with a rope pump, or if the spring is located above the community and is distant, the water can flow by gravity through PVC piping to the community.