Ecuador Water Projects
Using a Rotary Foundation Global Grant and a Government of Alberta Community Initiatives Program International Development Grant, our club is working in partnership with the Rotary Club of Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador to build municipal water systems in the two remote, rural communities of Santa Teresa and Las Mercedes, Ecuador. Through the power of these grants and partnerships, we were able to turn a $5000 CAD investment into roughly $90,000 USD!
The projects consist of properly engineered water wells, pressure and treatment systems, distribution systems, and water meters for every home and school in the communities (about 750 families). More importantly, the projects include the national and local governments as partners who have agreed to pay technical staff to maintain the systems and sanction local, democratically elected water boards to govern the utility and charge for consumption to have sufficient funds to maintain the system indefinitely. Rotarians in Ecuador meet with parents, teachers, and children in the communities to educate them about proper hygiene and water conservation.