We were recently asked to describe our needs analysis process & the ongoing needs analysis...
Since our original needs analysis report was verbal & first hand experiential - I comiited this to the record so as to describe what went on before the water projects began...
The needs analysis exercise was essentially led by Bob Leonard - an expert in community development, having worked for American Aid among others & myself.
We identified that to be successful with a project of any sort in the marginalised communities of our Region, we needed to partner with an NGO that had experience & demonstrated success, in community development
We identified the main NGO's working in our region & after meeting with them it became blatantly obvious that water was the major issue, either a scarcity of it or contamination & that an alternative & healthy water supply was dire for many people in the communities in our region.
We talked & visted with several NGO's in the field of community development -
FAI - Save the Children
CASA
Patronatos Pro Ninos
Cedesa
& govt organisations
municipal govt.
Sapasma,
Ecology
We all know water is an essential element for life, there can be no life without it, & contamination of it is the cause of many sicknesses, disease & death worldwide. This has readily been acknowledged by Rotary along with many Aid Agencies globally & is a top priority of them all.
We had been given a copy of the Ecosciences report showing the level of contamination of Fluoride in the area.
We researched further & through Cedesa, met with Dr Ortega - a renowned scientist at UNAM (the biggest university in Latin America), & his colleagues who were running an 8 mth workshop on water & aquifer in this area with representatives from 120 communities, at Cedesa. To raise awareness of the issues with the indigenous & marginalised people of the region.
Dr Ortega's studies & research highlighted further the fluoride & scarcity issue, & the fact that despite often heavy rains the recharge rate was only 1 mtr per year, with many water levels being 180mtrs or lower.
We did more research on the effects of fluoride at the levels of contamination in our region.
It became further obvious to us that the effects of fluorosis - based on Deans Index -
H.T. Dean's fluorosis index was developed in 1942 and is currently the most universally accepted classification system. An individual's fluorosis score is based on the most severe form of fluorosis found on two or more teeth.[5].
Using this index we found many in the "severe" range.
We spoke with the govt to determine what - if anything - they were doing to resolve this issue & to raise awareness of this issue in the communities exposed to contamination. We found they were doing a resounding nothing!
We visited several affected communities with several of the NGO's & found the level of awareness of fluoride to be zero, they had no idea what caused their teeth to be brown pointy stubs! We saw fluorosis even in the mouths of 2 yr old babies, who were still largely breastfed, their first teeth were crumbled, mottled misformed clumps.
Only 2 of the NGO's we worked with demonstrated the principles of excellent community development (the others were working more as charity organisations, hand out versus hand up).
Of the 2 NGO's, one stated they had found it difficult to get any traction with communities in San Miguel. They had found them closed & resistant to working to resolve their issues. They believed it came about re the history of this area, that many had worked on Haciendas & were not accustomed to resolving things, but rather being told what to do.
Cedesa on the other hand had been working successfully with more than 120 communities in their region (nthrn Gto) for over 40 years, they had been successful in continuing the good work a Priest had begun to empower the indigenous people in their marginalised & remote communities. They also, co-incidentally, had been looking to extend their reach & work with new communities further south - they were very keen to work in San Miguel, as they identified that although the centre of San Miguel was prosperous & wealthy, just outside of SMA were over 500 communities exactly the opposite.
Since Cedesa already knew the issues of fluoride & one of the appropriate technologies they demonstrated at their workshops was water collection, namely cisterns we had our perfect match!
As to the ongoing needs analysis - well the issue has not gone away, it worsens each year, as more & more water is pulled - without govt controls - out of the aquifer & the remaining 40% of water left behind is concentrated more & more.
Sapasma have done additional testing of the wells in our region but have not shared this info with us - we believe this maybe for political reasons as they have committed only to provide water to communities without access to water, & continue to not publicly recognise the fluoride issue. (Mexican politics are complicated).
This problem can not resolve itself, it will only worsen. The contamination is continuing to affect the lives of many in our region. As Rotary has the power to do something about it, & as the method is in place & proven, along with a robust selection criteria - based onneed & demonstrated participation.
As an aside, this project continues to provide benefit, positive outcomes & goodwill, way beyond the essential provision of water.
Just yesterday I was at a community meeting in Tierra Blanca, one of the water project communities. The community told us at the first meeting there in 2010 that ahead of water their top prioirty was they wanted our help to resolve an issue of high incidence of cancer in their community.
We continued to work on this with them (aside from the water projects which were successfully completed). 4 years after that initial meeting, we now know the cause of the cancer is Erionite. This has been confirmed by a world Erionite /Mesothelioma expert in Hawaii, & yesterday many govt officials were there to learn more about the issues (the erionite issue as well as other community priorities) - these multi departmental govt. officials have committed to regular contact with this community to work together to resolve them.
Yesterday's meeting would never have come about had we not carried out a water project there.
Firstly the cancer deaths would not have been recognised as an issue - Tierra Blanca had been asking for help for this for years & the govt had dismissed it saying the cause was genetic.
Secondly they would not have managed to reach perhaps, the one scientist in Mexico who would continue to work until he discovered the answer - Dr Ortega.
Thirdly the community would not have been organised enough to invite the govt officials & co-ordinate the meeting, with community representatives speaking on the issues & the diagnosis & potential solutions.
What I was privileged to witness yesterday - indigenous women standing in front of a crowd & without hesitation, eloquently descibing their issue, the affect it has had on their lives, the incidious latency then horrid & rapid onset symptoms of the cancer, the number of people in their family who have died from it & their empassioned plea to the govt. officials to work with them to resolve this life threatening issue, for their future generations - was I have to say it - simply amazing!!!
This is a direct result of the community of Tierra Blanca having been involved in an excellent community development project, which not only resolved a major issue but also taught them the skills to identify & resolve other issues in future.
To sum up, as a result of the very thorough needs analysis we carried out -.what we discovered, ie the need for safe drinking water, was blindingly obvious, & continues to be. What we hoped for - was to work with the communities to provide an alternative to the toxic water they have been consuming for generations, we also hoped that in the process they would find their strength & voice & common ground as a community.
What has resulted - these communties have been positively affected in ways we are sometimes lucky enough to witness (like yesterday's meeting). What they have learned - organisation skills & that they have basic human rights, & a voice & there is strength in unitiy - will allow them to continue to improve their lives for future generations. Each time they exercise these many skills (gained during the projects) they become even stronger. I am very proud that through our efforts - Rotary could have been a part of this.
