IRWA and Rotary International Partner to Bring Safe Water to Honduras

International Rural Water Association (IRWA), a 501 c (3) non-profit developing safe water and water treatment technical knowledge in developing countries, has received its first Rotary International (RI) matching grant to support nine communities in Honduras with safe water.  The project will allow the nine communities to receive disinfected piped water into their communities.  The water will be provided to a central location within the community eliminating the need to hand carry water from surface water sources some times several miles away.  The disinfected water will go a long way to eliminate the waterborne illnesses plaguing the communities.  Lack of illness and elimination of multi-hour days spent hauling water from far flung sources, will provide the 2,700 people to be served by these systems the opportunity to improve their quality of living through better health and free up time to pursue economic opportunities.  Through the simple act of safe water, a domino effect toward a better life is possible for the 2,700 members of the nine communities. 

This grant proves the value of collaborative efforts.  The $75,046 project is being financed by a large number of groups in Maryland and Honduras that have come together to support this important project.  The groups supporting the project and the contribution breakout are as follows:

The villages included in the project lie within the Department of La Paz in and around the municipality of Marcala.  These are all rural communities some of them in remote areas of Honduras.  IRWA and our Rotary partners will be building storage tanks, distribution systems and installing tablet chlorinators that contain no moving parts only requiring the water operator to periodically fill the chlorinator with additional 3 inch tablets.  Our Honduran technical service providers known as circuit riders, are currently working with each of the nine communities providing education on waterborne illness, the power of chlorine to prevent most of these diseases, and appropriate user rate structures for system sustainability.   The villages, populations and cost per person are shown in the table below.