Over 30
participants attended the 3-day Water Harvesting Education Program (February 20-23) in Los Platanos. The participants were from the communities of
Los Platanos, Vergel de Guadalupe & San Cayetano in the municipality of San
Luis de la Paz in the state of Guanajuato.
This was the
first time Rotary Midday of San Miguel de Allende & CEDESA have visited this
community; invited by volunteer community organizer Lucha Villafuerte &
Father Zesati to help provide solutions to the contaminated water in the
Independence Aquifer.
On day one of the program, between
singing, dancing & eating, the participants learned how important water is to life & how to avoid contaminating water in the way they use water . Participants were astonished to learn that only 2% of water on Earth is suitable
for human consumption & resolved to use it wisely. The ‘grandmothers’
in the group spoke to us about how they used water long ago which caused the
group to reflect on the wastefulness of modern-day usage.
Day two was
full of dynamic activities focused on how water in these communities became polluted & how this affected health. The day
started with participants creating a mural of their watershed & learning where their water comes from. They discovered there were three
types of pollutants; chemical, mineral & biological, some of which they have control over & some they do not.
The
promoters showed photos of adults & children with various stages of
fluorosis & arsenic poisoning (fluoride & arsenic both contaminate local water supplies), which caused much discussion. A guest from a
nearby community shared the problems her own community is experiencing; the
tap water is highly contaminated & has caused several cases of cancer, kidney
failure, & death. She reported the municipal government denies that the
health problems are caused by city water. She is working with a committed group
of 8 concerned citizens to help bring awareness of this serious issue. She
heard about the work of Rotary and CEDESA & came to seek help and resources.
Day three of
the program began with an original song & sketches about why we
shouldn’t drink or cook with tap water. CEDESA & Rotary Midday member,
Lee Carter, got in on the act with a humorous role play about a community
rallying around clean water for their children.
The participants concluded that harvesting rainwater in cisterns was the
best solution to their problem. They were enthusiastic about starting cistern
building the following week.
At the conclusion of the 3-day
prog. the participants agreed the problem of contaminated water is everyone’s problem & they will work together to build cisterns & to spread awareness in their communities.
Eighty-one
cisterns are in the process of being built by communities in the San Luis de la Paz
area.
Submitted by: Wendy Coulson (Rotary Peace Fellow/Curriculum Developer)