Belize has a population of some 310,000 people. Many areas of this small country have no access to potable water, and most drink water from rivers and streams that are polluted with no means of filtration. To begin to solve this problem, Rotary District 6110 and the Rotary Club of Bixby have worked for two years to develop an international project that could partner with Rotary and Interact clubs in another country.
District 6110 has contacted Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary to assist with this project because District 5340 is a pilot district for global grants. The funding for this grant will be used to purchase and deliver approximately, 2,500 Sawyer point of use water filters to be used in rural schools, and orphanages, throughout the country.
The purpose of choosing schools is two fold. First we will be targeting the most vulnerable part of the population, the youth. Second by providing the children with safe drinking water and the education of the necessity to have clean water they will take this knowledge back to their homes.
The Sawyer Water Filter was chosen because it is the most cost efficient solution where surface water is available as is the case in Belize. Another consideration is that many of the small rural villages can not support the operation of larger scale filtration systems. Each Sawyer Filter can purify up to 500 gallons of water a day and has a life expectancy of 1,000,000 gallons. Using the filters for an average of six hours a day means the filters have a life expectancy of some 22 years. No chemicals or special training is required to maintain the filters, they are simply back-flushed periodically with clean water by using a backwash syringe which is provided with the filter. Each filter also comes with a hose connection and a hole cutter to drill a hole in any container large enough to hold the filter (typically a 5 gallon container). The hose is connected to the container through the hole cut in the bottom of the container. Non-potable water is poured into the container and pure water comes out of the hose at the rate of 1 liter per minute at 1.0 gravity (no pressure or water head added).
Filters can be purchased in quantity from the manufacturer in Florida for $34.87 each. Providing a 5 gallon container with lid and the Rotary Emblems on each container adds an additional $3.16 to the cost of each container. Cost to ship the filters to Belize is approximately $4,915 so with a $99,992 grant some 2,500 filters can be purchased.
Completed
This project is "Completed". This means the project has been implemented and the report was accepted by The Rotary Foundation. The project will stay listed on this website as a testimony of the achievements of the project partners.
Project listed for the 2011-12 Rotary Year.
The TRF Grant application number is #25486.
Proposed Financing
Existing Contributions Towards This Project
Date
Cash
DDF
Total
Carlsbad Hi-Noon (5340)
9-Feb-11
$5,000
$5,000
$10,000
District 5340 DDF
17-Jul-11
-
$39,500
$39,500
Amount Requested from The Rotary Foundation
$2,500
$44,500
$47,000
Additional Contribution (not matched by The Rotary Foundation)
Pledge of $5,000 by Harry R. Peacock of the Rotary Club of Carlsbad Hi-Noon, District 5340.
11-Jul-11
by Philippe Lamoise
Contribution of $5,000 DDF approved by the District 5340 Rotary Foundation Committee.
17-Jul-11
System Entry
Pledge of $39,500 DDF by Philippe Lamoise of the Rotary Club of La Jolla New Generations, District 5340.
18-Jul-11
System Entry
Project is now "Fully Pledged".
19-Sep-11
System Entry
Proposal Sent to The Rotary Foundation through Member Access.
19-Sep-11
System Entry
Proposal approved by The Rotary Foundation.
19-Sep-11
System Entry
Application Sent to The Rotary Foundation through Member Access.
19-Sep-11
System Entry
Application approved by The Rotary Foundation.
19-Oct-11
by Harry Peacock
Filters ordered from Sawyer and payment authorized.
18-Nov-11
by Harry Peacock
Buckets, lids and filter assemblies shipped from Tulsa, OK
23-Nov-11
by Harry Peacock
Buckets and lids ordered and payment authorized to Letica Corp.
12-Dec-11
by Harry Peacock
Shipment arrives in Belize City.
2-Jan-12
System Entry
Payment has been issued by The Rotary Foundation.
30-Jan-12
by Harry Peacock
Payment to MSNI (cooperating agency) for costs associated Shipment of filters and containers to Belize, port fee, transportation from port to warehuse, government fees, customs fees, taxes, storage fee, customs broker charges. Total is $1,672.99 USD.
1-Jun-12
by Philippe Lamoise
Per Maria Emig, interim report accepted. Next report due on 1-Jun-2013.
14-Dec-12
by Harry Peacock
Progress report approved by TRF covering the project through May 2012. Next report due no later than May 2013.
All filters had been delivered by May 2012. Six month evaluation of effectiveness in the schools was postponed until early September start date as summer vacation was only a month or so off by May of 2012. Expect data gathering will end sometime in February 2013 with report ready to send to TRF by the May deadline.
17-Jun-13
by Harry Peacock
Data on school attendance completed. Analysis underway. Expect to have final report in draft form no later than August 31, 2013.
8-Jan-14
by Sheree Fukai
Spoke with Maria Emig when i was in US, need to spend additional funds. We are going purchase additional education aids to help emphasis the necessity of clean water, and hygiene
16-Jul-14
by Pam Russell
Applicants are currently being considered with the symposium taking place in the fall.
16-Sep-15
by Sheree Fukai
This Project has been reported and is RI has closed it
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