WATER FILTERS
WATER FILTERS
Approximately 77 million people don’t have access to drinking water in Latin America, being Guatemala one of the most affected places, since 90% of the country’s water is contaminated, several countries in this region share similar rates.
According to UNICEF “Globally, an estimated 2,000 children under the age of five die every day from diarrheal diseases and out of these, some 1,800 deaths are linked to water, sanitation and hygiene.
Parasitic illnesses, abound in environments with unsafe water and deficient sanitation. At the very least they sap children of vitality – and at their worst cause blindness and sometimes death. Poor hygiene is a conduit for these diseases.
Almost 90 per cent of child deaths from diarrheal diseases are directly linked to contaminated water, lack of sanitation, or inadequate hygiene
FILTERS UTZ JA'
The situation of children in Guatemala is alarming. The rate of children’s mortality is 34%, being the main problem chronic malnourishment. The main causes of death are associated to pneumonia and severe diarrheal diseases and 54% of these diseases are associated to some level of malnourishment.
Without access to safe water and adequate sanitation, families remain mired in deplorable conditions. Young children die from preventable diseases. Those who survive are often unable to learn in school or succeed in life because of the legacy of ill health in their early years and the burden of recurring illnesses.”
In our experience working with rural communities, stomach diseases, malnourishment and skin problems are the main issues that people suffer due to the water pollution, being the children the most affected population.
ACHIVEMENTS OBTAINED BY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM!
COMMUNITIES OF EL PROGRESO & XIQUINA, SUCHITEPEQUEZ
Thanks to the Water Filters program, in 2022 it was possible to donate 138 filters for these communities, training families regarding the importance and correct use of the filter, including in this training deworm medicine for all family members. The donation was in benefit of over 130 families and approximately 75 children from the local Elementary School. The achievement obtained by the water filters program was
FILTERS UTZ JA'
COMMUNITY OF SAN JUAN CERRITOS, SUCHITEPEQUEZ
Living Heritage held medical clinics with the support of a medical mission team in the years 2013, 2014, and 2015. The medical staff, when examining people in the community, determined that most of them suffered from parasites (amoebas, Giardiasis, others), which tend to be found in polluted waters. 135 filters were donated for this community.
The following year of having delivered the filters, the same medical team returned to this community on a medical mission and determined that the cases of patients suffering from amoebas had been reduced by almost 80%.
COMMUNITIES IN NEED
- The process starts by locating rural communities without access to purified water and who cannot afford it.
- Working together with local leaders, the cases are prioritized, selecting the most vulnerable, who are trained about clean water, hygiene, health, nutrition and water filter assembly; then, deworming medicine is provided and water filters are delivered at each home.
After 6 months of using the filter, for follow up, LHF visits each beneficiary families to verify that they have used it correctly.
