COCIRA Meeting 25th Sept 2014

COCIRA Community Meeting

Presa de Allende

September 25, 2014

Meeting was called to order at 10:50 am

Agenda was set for the day

The following communities were in attendance:

Community Name	# adults in attendance	# children attending
Correlejo	7	6
Tierra Blanca	1
Juan Gonzalez	10
La Banda	6	3
Alonso Yanez	4
Lindero	3
Montecillo de Nieto	2	1
San Lorenzo	3	1
Cienega Juan Ruiz	1
La Palmita II	2
Vivienda de Abajo	11	3
Nuevo Rancho Villa de Guadalupe	1
Ex Hacienda de Pena Blanca	3	1
Presa Allenda	25	A bunch
Non-COCIRA Vistors
San Marco Begona	1
Puente de Carmen	1

Total Attendance: 81 adults and about 25 children.

At the previous COCIRA meeting held in San Lorenzo about one month ago, it was decided that a “commission” would be set up to visit communities where there had been previous water harvesting, dry toilet and other projects. The commission is to consist of representatives to COCIRA, CEDESA and Rotary San Miguel Midday. The purpose of the commission is to see how these projects have held up over time.

The Rotary water harvesting program began in late 2008 so Rotary is pleased to have a chance to go back and learn how the beneficiaries have fared over time. Specifically Rotary is interested in seeing whether the cisterns are being maintained as recommended, whether the families are taking any additional sanitation precautions with the harvested water and whether there are any changes in our design that could improve the cistern. Rotary is also interested in seeing how many persons in various communities have the Eco-Cina stoves and to see how the dry toilet projects (mostly done by the municipality) are progressing. This is also an opportunity for us to continue to update our community assessments to see what other needs the people in the communities have identified as necessary for their continued community development.

The commission is to consist of two teams who will visit the communities on the dates listed below:

Team One: Leonilla, Chela, Mayra and David
La Tinaja	October 3
Villa Guadalupe and San Lorenzo	October 17
Cinco Senores	October 24
Correlejo	October 31
Vivienda de Ariba	November 7
Cienega Juan Ruiz	November 14
La Palmita II	November 21

Team Two: Araceli, Saul, Lee, and Isabel
Vivienda de Abajo	September 30
Capadrillo	October 7
Guerro	October 7
Presita Santa Rosa	October 14
Cruz del Palmar	October 28
Los Torres	November 4
Las Magueyes	October 21
Tierra Blanca Abajo	November 11
Montecillo de Nieto	October 21

Next the program for new Water Harvesting Projects was discussed. This is the revised list of communities and families that are on the waiting list:

La Palmita Ii – 14 families

Montecillo de Nieto – 8 families

La Banda – 10 families

Rancho Nuevo Villa de Guadalupe – 6 families

Juan Gonzalez – 18 families (16 cisterns + 2 rotoplasts)

Vivienda de Abajo - 12 families

Presa Allende – 36 families

Alonso Yanez – 23 families

Lindero – 23 families

Alejandro Guerra reported the results of the testing of wells in those communities undertaken last week. The testing was graciously done at no cost by CATIS. Juan Gonzalez was not tested because CATIS did extensive testing there in November of 2013 and the results were all above 2.0 mg/liter which automatically qualifies them as in need of a project of this nature. Tests are in mg/liter of water.

Presa Allende 1.27; Artisano de Banda (serving La Banda) 1.84; Vivienda de Abajo 1.87; Alonso Yanez (also serving Lindero) 4.95; Montecillo de Nieto 1.40; Don Francisco (serving Palmita II) 0.53.

The Don Francisco well has tested to be low in fluoride over several years and it was noted that they are very fortunate to have safe drinking water in their community that is not degrading as precipitously as has been noted in other communities in this area.  As such, it was determined that they would not qualify for a cistern project at this time.

Following Alejandro’s report, priorities and “start dates” for the projects were determined. Priority is based upon the degree of contamination and the previous participation by the community in COCIRA. The following plan has been set to convene the first planning meetings for these projects:

Juan Gonzalez – October 7, 4 pm

La Banda and Montecillo de Nieto – October 28, 4 pm

Vivienda de Abajo – November 18 – 4 pm

Some notes about the other communities:

Villa de Guadalupe had a well dug there by SAPASMA in December 2013 and SAPASMA has installed the delivery pipes within the last 30 days. It is expected that they will have water available from this well in the near future. At this time, the new well is not connected (lacking electricity and a pump). We have not been able to test the water in this well although SAPASMA has indicated that the quality is “good”. Rotary will have the water tested as soon as the new well is connected and if it is deemed unsafe, we will provide resources to do cisterns there. We would prefer to do this at the same time as Juan Gonzalez but they do not want to wait any longer. IF Villa’s water is unsatisfactory, the community of Juan Gonzalez will provide the training and assistance to help these six families build cisterns. Otherwise there are not enough families to amortize the training and supervision costs over a small number of cisterns.

The level of fluoride measured in the Alonso Yanez well is the highest that we have ever encountered in the San Miguel area. (Note that as the mg/liter measurement increases that the potential health risks increase exponentially and not lineally.) There are currently 23 families in Alonso Yanez and 23 families in Lindero that want to participate in the cistern project. No one in either community knew before today that their fluoride levels were so elevated. This project will not begin until late 2014 because these communities are late comers to COCIRA . It was decided that we will hold to “educational assemblies” in October to inform the people more about the dangers of fluoride and arsenic in their community. We will also provide information about water quality and sanitation in general at these meetings. Perhaps other families will want to join in the project when they have scientific knowledge of the water situation in their community. The meeting in Alonso Yanez will be October 3rd at 10 am and the meeting in Lindero will be October 14^th at 10 am. Start dates for these two projects will be determined later in the year.

Presa Allende. At 1.27, Presa Allende is on the cusp of having a problem, but it may not be critical at this time. We want to study the situation more over the next several months before making a determination of whether to include Presa Allende in the water harvesting program for 2014/15. Additional testing will be done by CATIS over the next several months. Dr. Ortega from UNAM will be consulted to discuss the rate of degradation of the water to be expected in the near future. We will try to find results of testing done at this well over the last 10 years so we can plot the decline if any. Since the Mexican standard and WHO standard of 1.5 mg/liter were set some 15 years ago, we want to review the more recent scientific studies to see when the health problems begin to manifest  in relation to fluoride contamination. There has been much discussion within WHO in the last several years about whether to lower the NORM. This decision as to whether a cistern project is to be done at Presa Allende will be postponed until we have all the information necessary to make an informed  and responsible decision.

The next item on the agenda of the day was to see the various products being produced in various communities in the San Miguel area which was combined with a communal lunch brought by the COCIRA participants. Eric and Deyenira Ramirez from the Eco-Cina stove factory provided a demonstration of the Eco-Cina Stove (a prior Rotary project) which reduces smoke by 60%, uses substantially less firewood and reduces the illnesses associated with cooking on open fires. These stoves all but eliminate the dangers of children falling into open fires. We were all  pleased to receive fresh quesadillas from Deyenira and the many other delights brought by the participants.

Submitted by:

Lee Carter

Rotary San Miguel Midday

September 25, 2014

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2 More Communities Complete Their Projects - Hacienda de Pena Blanca and Ex Hacienda de Jesus

Lotus Humanitarian Aid Foundation and SAPASMA

Jointly Fund Cistern Projects in 

Ex Hacienda de Peña Blanca and Ex Hacienda de Jesus

With A Little Help From Their Friends

Cedesa & San Miguel Midday Rotary Club

In March of 2014, Lotus Humanitarian Aid Foundation (Lotus) and SAPASMA (Sistema de Agua Potable Y Alcantarillado de San Miguel de Allende) agreed to fund a project for construction of 18 water harvesting systems in the San Miguel community of Ex-Hacienda de Pena Blanca (XHPB). The Midday Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende agreed to manage the project for the benefit of the donors. 

XHPB had no local water source other than a much polluted, mostly dry, riverbed. They depended solely upon sporadic delivery of water trucks from the municipality which often left the whole community without safe water for weeks at a time. An agreement to split the anticipated cost of the project 1:1 was made between Lotus and SAPASMA. The proposed budget was $165,909.00 pesos for the Pena Blanca project. (See appendix.)

Simultaneously Rotary San Miguel Midday (RSMM) was asked to manage a pilot project of two cisterns in the community of Ex-Hacienda de Jesus (XHJ) in the municipality of San Diego Union. The budget for those two cisterns was $23,290.00 pesos. (See appendix.)

Lotus sent US$8000.00 to RSMM project checking account in San Antonio, Texas. That money was transferred by wire to the RSMM project account at Bancomer in San Miguel de Allende on April 22. A total of $103,360.00 pesos was received and it was allocated: $17,047.72 for XHJ and $86,312.28 for XHPB. SAPASMA agreed to fund its half of the project by providing materials “in-kind”.

Members of the RSMM project team were Lee Carter, Alejandro Guerra and David Hartman. Centro de Desarrollo Agropecuario AC (Cedesa), once again agreed to be the RSMM partner organization to manage these projects. CEDESA’s team included Chela Martinez, Holly Yasui, Saul Juarez C., and Benigno Caltzonzin.

 RSMM visited the XHJ organizational meeting with CEDESA and began to manage the financial aspects of the project at that point. CEDESA was responsible for meetings, teaching the citizens to construct cisterns and coordinating the delivery of construction materials. 

In this simultaneous project it was planned that  Lotus would fund two cisterns and that the local community would try to raise funds to complete two more cisterns. The original first Lotus cistern was planned to be at the elementary school in XHJ but the participants have been unable to obtain permission from the school administrators to put the cistern on school property. 

Because of this, the materials for the first “Lotus cistern” were moved to the community of Adjuntas de San Jose. 

A "second" cistern was completed through using community funds in the community of San Cayetano and there are independent funds available to do the original first school cistern should permission ever be obtained. The two pilot cisterns were built by a group of about 25 persons in XHJ and this portion of the project was completed May. Payment records are available on the shared Google Document.

The XHPB project began with CEDESA organized community meetings, attended by RSMM, in which the 17 families were self-selected through their participation and work with the Regional Citizens' Council (COCIRA). They divided themselves into three work groups who would send representatives to learn the construction process (kind of "train the trainer") as a cistern was built at the Kinder (kindergarten) in Pena Blanca. On most days that we visited, there were between 13 and 15 persons at the Kinder doing the work. 

The roof of the Kinder was old clay “tejas” and it was determined that ½ of this roof needed to be changed to galvanized metal to assure best sanitation procedures. Rotary agreed to fund this out of project contingency funds by foregoing part of the administrative funds set aside for RSMM in the budget. 

The community’s parents decided amongst themselves that they would self-fund the other ½ of the roof and they purchased and installed the materials to accomplish that. A good cooperative start made for an auspicious beginning.

Upon completion of the pilot cistern, CEDESA and RSMM coordinated the delivery of materials for the rest of the cisterns from our normal suppliers and directly from SAPASMA. This created extra coordination and minor difficulties, but the donation of ½ of the total cost of the project in materials from SAPASMA has made us optimistic re possibility of the current administration of SAPASMA to partner with RSMM in future projects, (we have successfully partnered with Sapasma with past administrations, & this is the first one with the current administration).

Because of economies that we were able to achieve in the materials cost, we were able to add a 19^th cistern to the project,  at the local primary school. We were very pleased this worked out as the children at both schools had no safe water supply available.

Each team of 5 to 6 families began the work of constructing one cistern at each of the family’s home. CEDESA representative, Saul Juarez, and the RSMM project team visited the community at least on a weekly basis during the construction process. The 19 cisterns were completed and a celebration was held August 8, 2014 at the community with all involved parties invited to attend.

The final celebration, as always was a joy to attend. More than 100 adults and children were in attendance of which approximately 50 were from the seven COCIRA communities that are on the waiting list for our upcoming projects. 

SAPASMA sent the Secretary of the Administrative Board along with two others. Cedesa brought five representatives including Chela Martinez, the Director of CEDESA.

Rotary showed up with nine club members, one wife and two grandchildren. Gary Reid came with us to take photographs of the families, the cisterns and the beautiful Pena Blanca area. After painting the pre-school and a nice closing ceremony, we enjoyed a spectacular fiesta prepared by the families of XHPB. It was a beautiful day and a fitting closing to a successful project.

Of significance, the teacher at the pre-school brought two of the supervisors who oversee most of the schools throughout the various San Miguel communities. We had the opportunity to talk with them about future school projects and particularly working to improve water education with the kids, the teachers and the parents.

Financial Notes:

This is a financial summary of the Ex-Hacienda de Pena Blanca project. Details of payments and costs are available on shared Google Docs and all parties to this project have been invited to share and review these documents at their leisure.

1.       Project Budget for 18 cisterns: $165,909.37 (mxn Pesos)

2.       One-half of this amount was funded by materials in-kind from SAPASMA. 

      Thus, RSMM was managing Lotus’ portion of $82,954.69. $86,312.28 was available after wire transfer expenses.

3.       The municipality of San Miguel de Allende provided “pipas” (water trucks) needed to mix cement) weekly throughout the project saving approximately $3,500.00 pesos.

4.       With a 19^th cistern added to the project, the final cost of the project for Lotus was 72,058.26. This is $10,896.43 below the budget.

5.       At the request of Lotus, RSMM will be holding the saved funds to be applied to the next Rotary Water Harvesting Project that is Global Grant #1422619.

6.       Also Lotus funds received for this project were $86,312.28 when their budgeted portion was $82,954.69. The extra $3,357.60 pesos will also be held for the Global Grant.

7.       Total Lotus funds to be applied to GG#1422619 are $14,254.02 or approximately US$1,117.96.

Simultaneously Rotary San Miguel Midday (RSMM) was asked to manage a pilot project of two cisterns in the community of Ex-Hacienda de Jesus (XHJ) in the municipality of San Diego Union. The budget for those two cisterns was $23,290.00 pesos. 

Project Budget for 2 cisterns: $23,290.00.(mxn pesos)

2.       Project Expenses paid in cash by Lotus directly to CEDESA: $6,395.00

3.       Allocated funds to this project from Lotus Foundation donation: $17,047.72.

4.       The final cost of the project for Lotus was $21,472.40. This is $1,817.60 below the budget.

5.       At the request of Lotus, RSMM will be holding the saved funds (and overfunded amount) to be applied to the next Rotary Water Harvesting Project that is Global Grant #1422619.

6.       Total Lotus funds to be applied to GG#1422619 are $1,970.32 or approximately US$154.53.

THEREFORE: Total funds carry forward from both projects combined: US$1,272.49.

Report submitted by Lee Carter - RSMM

STATISTICS UPDATE AUGUST 2014

A BIG THANK YOU to all the hardworking men & women belonging to the Rotary Clubs & Districts & the Foundation who have been part of this solution:

Ann Arbor RC USA

Baton Rouge Capital City RC USA
Bellingham RC USA

Calgary RC Canada
Middletown RC USA

New Braumfels RC USA

Paso Robles RC USA

Port Lavaca RC USA

Richmond RC TX USA

Sechelt BC RC Canada

Tallahassee RC USA
Trail BC RC Canada
Tyron RC USA
West U RC TX USA
San Miguel Midday RC Mexico
Districts 4160, 6060, 6200, 6940, 7670, 7980

& THE ROTARY FOUNDATION (Ashley & Lauren)

HUGE THANK YOU’s to:

Cedesa, (especially Holly, Chela, Saul – The TEAM!!), & our family members who put up with long, late hours…

Sapasma (Previous Administration - Camilo, Waldo, Alva, Juan Jose & the other promoters & the new administratin)

Fondo Verde

Alberta Govt’s Community Initiative Program (BC Canada)
The Lotus Foundation (private donor)

The many other private donors/supporters

Our Suppliers, especially Raul from Hierro Comercial Dolores Hidalgo, Eric our Herreria & his boys, Jesus our sand guy, Madera Providencia, Cemex, Talego, Don Pedro,

Our Banks: Frost Bank, Bancomer, Monex, Intercam, CI banco,

Our accountant (wish we had her in the early days) : Liliana

Our publicity: Atencion!,

Members & Board of San Miguel Midday, for continuing support, attending Inaugurations, making speeches on behalf of the project, attending meetings with govt, fundraising!

Lee Carter: answering all the tricky finance questions in the past & leading the new team Denis & Alex, & David for the new Projects
Gary Reid for continuing to take excellent photos for us.

 &

MASSIVE THANKS to the men, women & children in all of the participating communities – for showing us your strength, courage & commitment to improving the lives of yourselves & future generations - living with such dignity under incredible hardship.

Numbers:

626 Cisterns

24 Communities

Ie 4000+ family members (+ other school & kinder children)

Total Funding Summarised

Rotary US$239,588    (including direct grant private donations)

SMCF US$10614

Sapasma mxn$953353 (ie approx. US$73334)
Fondo Verde mxn$150,000(ie approx. US$11,500) + US$21,850
Lotus Foundation mxn$93530

Other donations US$1000

(total approx. US$365080)

2nd New Team Project - Completed July 2014 19 + 2 Cisterns
Summary of Funding
ExHacienda Pena Blanca 19 Cisterns


Lotus Foundation Mxn$72056 

(nb this amount was under budget & the balance will be counted in the next project planned - global grant)
Sapasma Materials Donation value mxn$82,954.69

Planned for ExHacienda de Jesus - which became San Cayetano 1, Adjuntas de San Jose 1 (*municipality of San Diego Union)

Lotus Foundation Managed by RSMM

mxn 15077


1st New Team Project - Completed May 2013 18 Cisterns

Summary of Funding
Chinook Rotary Direct Grant $5000 , 
Rotary of Middletown Direct Grant $3021  
District 7980 District simplified Grant  $2320
Rotary San Miguel Midday $200 
(total USD$10,541)

Los Magueyes 8 cisterns
La Palma 8 cisterns
Viviendilla 2 Cisterns (1 at school, 1 demonstration cistern at factory)

Completed May-Jun 2012 11 Cisterns

Summary of Funding

San Miguel Community Fund $5911

Tierra Blanca 11 cisterns

Completed Jan-May 2012 169 cisterns in 8 Communities

Summary of Funding

Global Grant Rotary $65,300

Direct grants & donations $21,147 breakdown as follows:

Tallahassee US$10k club & $2.5k private donation
Port Lavaca  US$6k
Peggy Purcel US$462.45
Pancake breakfast fundraiser $14950pesos
Excess funds from Port Lavaca/New braumfels proj. $11420pesos
Excess funds from Cap II proj. $487pesos
Excess funds from Bellingham water proj. $1163.5 pesos
private donation $250pesos

La Tinaja 22 cisterns

Cruz del Palmar 41 Cisterns

Guerrero 20 Cisterns

Tres Esquinas 24 Cisterns

Tierra Blanca 23 Cisterns

Corralejos 15 Cisterns

Vivienda de Arriba 10 Cisterns

Los Torres 14 Cisterns

Completed Nov 2011-Jan2012 60 cisterns in 5 communities

Summary of Funding

Sapasma mxn$435399

Chris Hosford private donor US$500

Los Torres 18 cisterns (Phase IV in this community)

Presita de Santa Rosa 21 Cisterns (Pilot paid for by private donation - thankyou Chris Hosford, 20 cisterns funded by Sapasma)

Cienega Juana Ruiz 18 Cisterns (Phase II in this community)

Lomas de Cocina 2 Cisterns

Cinco Senores 1 Cistern 
(**)

Completed March – Jun 2011 134 cisterns in 6 communities

Summary of funding

Rotary $44,000

Fondo Verde mxn$150,000

Sapasma mxn$435,000

Tierra Blanca 28
Juan Gonzalez 22
funded by Global Grant from Baton Rouge Capitol City RC & District 6200 US$33,500

(completed June 2011)

Tierra Blanca 14 - direct grant donation from New Braumfels RC $2k, & Port Lavaca RC $7k

(completed June 2011)

San Lorenzo 4
Cinco Senores 11 (incl pilot in JG)
Fondo Verde Mxn$150k

(Completed June 2011)

Villa de Guadalupe 27
Cienega Juana Ruiz 26
Sapasma mxn$435k

(completed June 2011)

Villa Pilot x1
Cienega Pilot x 1
Bellingham RC US$1500

(completed June 2011)

Completed Jan 2011 – March 2011 25 cisterns

Summary Funding

DSG Tallahassee $3800,Tallahassee RC$6000,Walla Walla $7000

Vivienda Urbana (Cap II) 25 cisterns

Completed Jan 2009 – Jan 2011 Total 188 cisterns in 6 communities.

Summary Funding
Rotary$81,800
SMCF$4,703
Fondo Verde$21,850
Skymed $500
total funding = USD $108,853

Palencia 21 Cisterns $7k (+ balance of excess from other projects)

Capaderillo 40 Cisterns FV US$21850

Cruz del Palmar 28 Cisterns combined $24700

Vivienda de Arriba 17 Cisterns

Montecillo de Nieto 30 Cisterns $16700

Los Torres 52 Cisterns (27+4+17+1+3) Including $21,700 + 12,200+smcf US$2468+ smcf 2 U$2235  

= 188 cisterns (& 4 rotoplas tanks)

Historical info re Needs Analysis executed + proof of concept with Tierra Blanca Erionite Issue

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.

Middletown, Connecticut Reporting on Water Harvesting Project: Las Magueyes and La Palma, Guanajuato, Mexico

This article retells the story of the water project completed in April 2013.

Details & more Photos of the project & process can be found here

http://www.middletownrotary.org/MexicoWaterProject.cfm

Tierra Blanca - cause of higher than average mortality rate discovered!!

In May 2010 the Cedesa/Rotary water project team visited Tierra Blanca at the invitation of the community, who were interested in becoming participants in the water project that was being carried out in various neighbouring communities.

At that meeting members of the community spoke & raised the topic of the higher than average mortality rate of their community & asked if we could help them resolve it. This was not something the Water Project team had encountered in the surrounding communities, & after hearing the heart rending stories of the young people who had died, & whole families who had been wiped out by this cancer, we agreed to work with them to find the cause.

The puzzle was it was only occuring in this community - despite the close proximity to other communities who shared the same water, socio economic situation, food, environment etc, so why was it only happening in Tierra Blanca, & why did it even happen to people from Tierra Blanca when they left the community.

There were many theories - one included a curse, on those who had found ancient graves & sold artefacts in the 50's.

We agreed as a team to take this on.
Many months elapsed with various steps involved:

• There were many visits to Tierra Blanca working with & informing the people of the community.
• Many water tests taken - all showing high levels of Fluoride but although Fluoride has many symptoms the symptoms described by the people, ie sore shoulders & arms, then pain in the lungs, & then death within approx 6 mths, were not symtoms of fluoride poisoning. 
• Cedesa & a team of students led by Jesus Gutierrez created an interview protocol & carried out a census.
• With the results of this census a meeting was made with the then Mayor Lucy Nunez & she granted access to Sanitaria Dos officials.
• These officials were not convinced that the death rate was not just a result of a genetic predisposition running in families. They were aware of the deaths but none had been investigated.
• We also reached out to Dr Ortega of UNAM.
• He subsequently met with us in the community, & spoke with the people to gather more information.
• Dr Ortega committed to working on this issue & returned to take water samples there & in surrounding communities, from various sources, wells, springs & the dried up water bed - where locals dig holes & retrieve water from the puddles.
• The test results showed high levels of fluoride & in some cases arsenic but were inconclusive as causes of the cancer killing members of this community.
• Air, & soil tests were also carried out.

I left the team in 2013 & to be honest many of us believed we many never get to the bottom of this.

Fast forward to 2014 & today a very good friend forwarded an article appearing in the local bi-lingual paper. To read this exciting article & discovery please go to the following link:

http://amsanmiguel.com/?p=871

In the spanish version of this article they credit UNAM with discovering the cause of the high mortality rate & the cause is Erionite. 

"Erionite is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral that belongs to a group of minerals called zeolites. It usually is found in volcanic ash that has been altered by weathering and ground water."

Carcinogenicity of Erionite

"Erionite is known to be a human carcinogen and is listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group 1 Carcinogen.^[5]The prevalence of malignant pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma due to erionite exposure in the Central Anatolia Region is very high."

In our own Tierra Blanca, it has been reported, there is nothing for them to do but leave their homes - which of course many are unable to do. 

So on a high note, the moral of the story would be "don't give up, if something does not seem right it isn't & keep working until you find the cause"

On a low note, finding the cause does not necessarily solve the problem.

Love

Laura

Rotary Club of Ann Arbor Visited Los Torres & Fred tells the story..

LOS TORRES BLOG CONTRIBUTION
Shortly after the completion of the first Project in Los Torres, we—my wife Sue and I—visited the Project, this was back on 13th November 2009.

What would motivate the two of us, who had no previous contact with the Project,  to go to Los Torres?

We belong to the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor, one of whose members, Tom Conlin, spent several months in San Miguel de Allende.

While there he attended meetings of the Rotary Club, and became interested in the Water Project. When he returned, he persuaded our Club to join in support with other Rotary Clubs.

We came to San Miguel for a National Geographic Photo Workshop, & contacted Laura Stewart, whom we knew had worked hard to accomplish the goals of the Water Project.

She kindly consented to show us how the Project had worked in Los Torres. On our part, we were eager to see the results of the Project, and were delighted that Laura would take her valuable time to take us.

Laura drove us out for an hour over roads that barely existed; they were as bad as those we’ve seen anywhere (including Belize, Kenya, etc.).

When we arrived, we saw a substantial community,  (in two parts), and (o our great pleasure), many of the cisterns designed to harvest the rain water.

We were especially pleased to see the cisterns at the kindergarten &and elementary schools. That told us that harvesting rain water had become a community project. The community had evidently organized itself
around the project, and  the idea of working together as a community was in itself new to them.

We also visited a family who had installed their own cistern.

Old water collection method, wait for the water truck
to come & deliver water, then collect it by wheel barrow
& cart it home.






 

The new method to collect water - family's own cistern.    







Despite the language barrier, we could sense the love the family had for one another. I tried to depict this in my photography, and in the image Sisters I think I succeeded.

After this inspiring visit, Laura drove us back to
San Miguel over the  same roads as before.
Again I worried that the suspension would break,
and that getting back to San Miguel would be long postponed.
But that didn’t happen, and we returned knowing that our Club
had invested its dollars well in helping others to enhance their own lives
 in a significant and permanent way                                                            


Sisters...


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