Public Service Fellowships

fellowships

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start summer select a project Pure Water for the World

Address the need for clean water in rural Honduras with Pure Water for the World

www.purewaterfortheworld.org

The Challenge

The project addresses the need for clean water of rural villagers in the Department of Santa Barbara, Honduras.  In each community, the project consists of the following components:

  • provide household water treatment (via the biosand filter) in every home
  • provide follow-up monitoring of the filters for several months after filter installation
  • train local community volunteers to have the knowledge and ability to monitor and troubleshoot problems on a continual basis after project completion
  • present hygiene education workshops
  • provide de-worming medicines to the beneficiaries

In total, 1875 families (or about 10,000 people will benefit from this project.  The project was initiated in late 2007, and has already served over 1000 families in more than 25 communities.  The communities served are usually small in size (an average of 50 houses per community) that do not have any community water treatment system.  The water sources are usually superficial and therefore easily contaminated.  Thus, many children in rural Honduras suffer from diarrhea caused by dirty water.  Household (also known as point of use) treatment has been proven to be the most effective way to reduce water-borne diseases in such situations.

Each project team consists of a project manager two health promoters and a laborer.  The role of the Fellow would include assisting the team with some routine responsibilities:

  • Act as the liaison between project staff and US project board.
  • Assist in daily operation at project site.  Provide technical and logistical assistance to the project staff.
  • Develop project implementation plan and schedule
  • Become a technical expert in filter manufacturing and filter media (sand) preparation.  Oversee filter production and provide troubleshooting as necessary.  (training will be provided).
  • Translate of monthly project update reports.
  • Assist with financial cost control and reporting.
  • Computer support

The Fellow would also take on a focused project of their own. There is some flexibility to choose an area of focus for the small project.  This will be discussed with the Fellow in the early stages of the term.  Some options may include:

1.  Concrete filter manufacturing:

  • There have been some issues with quality of concrete filters and sand media.  Volunteer will review the current process, research alternatives for improved methods, develop plan and oversee the experimentation that will lead to a more effective process.  

2.  Project implementation plan:

  • After spending some time participating in the various components of the project, the volunteer will work with the project team leader to develop an implementation plan that will include:
    • project schedule that includes when the project team will perform each project component within each community from now until the end of the project.  The schedule must consider local conditions such as climate, harvest times, etc.
    • budget to correspond with that schedule
    • filter manufacturing schedule to meet the requirements as developed in the filter delivery schedule

3.  Improved educational workshops

  • Improved educational sessions could yield more sustainable projects, increased understanding of personal hygiene leading to habit changes, etc.
  • Volunteer will observe and/or participate in the various educational components of the project (socialization, explanation of the filter use to the beneficiaries, follow-up health and hygiene workshops, etc).  He/she will provide feedback to the organization on ways to make the sessions more effective, other material to include, ideas for activities, etc.  Volunteer could deliver a training session to project staff on participative teaching techniques, health education, etc.

The town of Santa Barbara (pop 15000) is the hub of the manufacturing facility and office location.  Filters are installed in surrounding villages within a 2 hour drive of Santa Barbara but volunteer would live in town and return each night.

Qualifications and Assets

  • advanced Spanish is preferred.  Must have the ability to converse in Spanish, as the project staff do not speak English.  Some translating will be required.
  • Some knowledge of concrete would be an asset (for troubleshooting concrete filter construction issues)
  • Good project management skills

Contact

MIT students interested in developing Fellowships around these ideas should contact Mike Swirp, Operations Director, Pure Water for the World, 613-627-5582, mike.swirp@purewaterfortheworld.org