Euromonitor Commits to Second Safe Water Project with Just a Drop

Euromonitor has been working with Just a Drop since August 2014 and earlier this year the work on our first project in India was completed.  I was able to see first-hand the impact that clean safe water and sanitation facilities have on poorer disadvantaged communities during a trip to visit the project.

Nearly There: an Update on our India Just a Drop Project

We have been very impressed by the work of Just a Drop and their local NGO partners and we’re thrilled to announce that we will be supporting a second project, this time in Nicaragua, Central America. Just a Drop will be working with El Porvenir a local NGO.  El Porvenir has 25 years’ experience working with rural Nicaraguan communities to improve their standard of living through water, sanitation and hygiene projects.

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere.  In the past decades, the country has been a victim of natural disasters and civil war that have destroyed infrastructure, drained resources and inhibited economic development.

It is estimated that 43% of the population lives in poverty, but even more striking is that 68% of the rural population lives in poverty.  In rural areas, like Los Guacimos where our Just a Drop project is based, access to water suitable for drinking is severely limited.

Los Guacimos economy is centred on agriculture and livestock.  The main crops grown are corn, beans and millet and some have animals such as hens and pigs.  Many families migrate to Costa Rica, El Salvador and internally in Nicaragua for the coffee harvest.  An average family lives on about $100 a month.

There is no water supply in the village, Iliana Raminez (see photograph) and other women in the village fetch water from 2 wells and a creek 1km away, carrying the heavy water up to 10 times a day.  The water is not clean or safe, but the community have no choice other than to drink it, cook with it and wash with it.  It is a situation which creates illness particularly amongst children and a lot of time is wasted fetching the water, time which could be spent in more useful activities such as education and employment.

After extensive consultation with the community Just a Drop and El Porvenir have agreed to construct a piped water system with an electrical pumping mechanism to deliver clean and safe water to each household in the village, reaching 138 people in 36 households. The primary water source will come from a drilled well locally which has been tested for proper water quality.

The outcomes of the project are clear:

• 138 people have access to clean, drinkable water for the first time
• Children in particular will benefit from increased health and improved performance in school
• In the long-term, people will have improved economic opportunities and increased productivity, particularly as precious time is not spent fetching water.

This is the first project Just a Drop are running in Nicaragua and we’re really excited to be able to support them in the growth of their work.