By Mary Avrakotos
In the highlands of Guatemala, a group of Mayan midwives works tirelessly, traveling to bring essential medical care to pregnant women in small remote rural communities. The absence of infrastructure like electricity and clean water makes safe home births difficult and poses challenges to childhood health and development.
Guatemala has the highest mortality rate for children under 5 in Central America. Leading causes of childhood death include diarrheal diseases brought on by unclean water and lower respiratory infections from burning kerosene lamps used to light their homes. Over 50% of these children never reach their full potential, locking them into poverty.
Working alongside a group of Mayan midwives, the Appropriate Technology Collaborative (ATC), headed by our own John Barrie, identified 70 families in remote, rural areas, that lack electricity and clean water. ATC has nearly 20 years experience working in Guatemala and Latin America on humanitarian projects, and recently, ATC was awarded a grant to provide solar lighting to these families. The grant did not, however, include funding for water filters.
RCAA leans in
This is where the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor leaned in. The club, through the work of our International Humanitarian Projects Committee, awarded ATC $2,400 to purchase water filters for these remote rural families. Specifically, ATC purchased 70 Ecofiltros. Ecofiltros are water filters made in Guatemala that use clay, sawdust, and colloidal silver to purify water from almost any source, including well water, rain water, and river water.
ATC plans to visit each of these families before the end of the year and deliver the Ecofiltros. When completed, this project will provide clean water to approximately 390 kids and 140 adults, and thanks to the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor, kids in Guatemala will grow up healthier!
For more information about the International Humanitarian Projects Committee, and how you can help kids around the world succeed, contact Mary Avrakotos or Wendy Zielen.
