La parte más fácil de la construcción del filtro es la caja de concreto.

Esta máquina que tamiza la arena hace más rápido el proceso.

Aquí estamos haciendo una prueba del flujo del agua después de instalar el filtro.

Esta orgullosa propietaria de un filtro tiene pocos muebles del hogar.

Las grandes ciénagas están casi secas obligando a la gente comprar agua.

Bob

Construction of the concrete filter box is the easy part.

 It seems like producing the filter box is the easy part.  However, sifting the filter media is a different story as it requires dry sand to pass through the very fine sieve installed in the machine.  We are investigating the feasibility of a wet sieving system so the dryness of the sand is not an issue.

This sand sifting machine speeds up the process.

 More than 300 filters and filter media are ready for installation and transporting filters to the village and organizing the installations seem to be the bottleneck right now.  About 200 have been installed to date.  I am in Monteria right now to see if the process can be improved.

Testing water flow rate after the media has been installed in the filter.

 The lady standing by the filter is happy with it.  She works on the farm where the filters are produced and I suppose the local powers that be decided that paint was a luxury.  A painted filter would have really stood out in a house with no furniture – there is not one painted item and only a couple hammocks.

This proud owner of a filter has few household furnishings to call her own.

Families generally are appreciative of the filters although access to sweet water during the dry season is very difficult and many are buying water that is being trucked in.  In November there was water everywhere with lots of marshes and limited vehicular access.  Now we are driving through the same areas on baked earth.  It is a challenging country to be sure.

Large marsh areas are almost dry forcing people to purchase water.

Bob  

Haga click acá para ver el video del evento hecho por Fela la fotógrafa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2S2UABoyDQ

Nuestros huéspedes entraron en la sala con el sonido del jazz…

…y se mezclaron durante la hora de los cócteles

…mientras que miraron las hermosas artesanías en la subasta callada…

…que fueron hechos a mano en Colombia.

Algunos optaron por tomarse fotos en la vieja ciudad de Cartagena…

…antes de disfrutar de una cena de salmón, carne y ensaladas.

Nuestro video sobre los programas de CAPD en Colombia fue bien recibido…

…pero la bailarina de flamenco fue un verdadero éxito!

Muy pronto la gente comenzó a levantar los talones a ritmo de la música de jazz con sabor latino.

Wow, ella puede cantar!

Extenuado, el Presidente de CAPD y el Emcee del evento (y miembro de la Junta) disfrutaron un momento de tranquilidad.

Click here to see Fela the Photographer’s video of the event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2S2UABoyDQ

Our guests entered the hall to the sound of jazz...

...and mingled during cocktails...

...while checking out the silent auction...

...that had many beautiful handcrafted Colombian items to choose from.

Some chose to have their pictures taken in "Old Cartagena"...

...before enjoying a dinner of salmon, beef and salads.

Our video on CAPD's programs in Colombia was well received...

...but the flamenco dancer was a real hit!

Soon people were kicking up their heels to a jazz beat with a Latin flavour.

Wow, could she sing!!!

Worn out, CAPD President and Emcee (and Board member) enjoy a quiet moment together.

Their first priority is to renew their accreditation as a university practicum site. They hope to achieve this objective by the end of this year. Next year, they plan to become accredited as a health centre, which will allow them to sub-contract to various health insurers.

Their second priority is to put the bakery on a business footing. Mothers in charge of the bakery have begun taking baking courses at SENA, the technical institute, a first step to be followed by training in business management in the following year.

Below you will see pictures of the bakery and of physical therapy sessions with children, moms and a part-time therapist called Clara. You will also see pictures of a Sunday outing to The Chicamoacha Park, one of the newest parks built to celebrate the beauty of the river gorge and the history of Santander. This outing was a treat for all of us, but especially for our visitor from Pereira, Gilma, the coordinator of the new Green Light program there.

Wishing you best regards as we draw near to Christmas,

Marlene

The bakery is now located on the 2nd floor, in a kitchen dedicated to this purpose.

Today they made sweet buns.

They also make cheese bread, which is very popular.

Mom gives therapy to her daughter, a little cutie!

Clara works with a youngster with paint on his nose.

Our group, at the Chicamoacha Park entrance, is ready to have a great time.

Rocio, Green Light Coordinator, with Cristian, her son. Behind them the highway to Bogota stretches out to climb the mountain. The parking lot and park buildings are down below.

This sculpture tells the story of a peasant revolt against a Spanish tax law. Only half of the scuplture was captured by this picture.

The artist really captured the emotion on people's faces.

Our illustrious group poses in front of the mighty river gorge. And with this photo, we close our tale.

Something that is becoming clearer every day is the importance of the preliminary hygiene and sensitization phase towards a successful project.   Sometimes it takes a few meetings for the people to capture the concepts and learn how to solve some of the issues.  Not everyone is interested.

In this photo you see a meeting of community members learning about the issues of diarrhoea and unsafe water and what exactly the filter might do for them.

Enadis on her motorcycle.

Hygiene training session in a church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our program has a mandatory training session and we have been fortunate enough to be able to hold these in the local church where it is dark enough to show a video and spacious enough to do interactive activities to reinforce hygiene lessons.  We even have a working filter beside the altar table! The ladies are always amazed when Enadis uses Glo Germ to show the importance of using soap when hand washing.

The Program now has approximately 230 filters built and media prepared. The filters and filter media are very high quality, thanks to the hard work and vigilance of a number of Rotarians and volunteers.

Here you see Enadis, the CAPD sponsored Programa Agua Sana Coordinator organizing the families to pick up their filters and take them to their homes.

This is where the filters started - molds being constructed in a workshop. I learned later that the owner of the workshop has a farm a couple Km down the road from our target population. He gave us an incredible price on the molds (about 30% of the norm). Just one of the local businesses that has collaborated with the project.

Rotarian, civil engineer and chief pusher, Gustavo Ramirez poses beside the first 2 filters.

Rotarian Alina on the left contacted me a year ago asking about a water filter workshop. We skipped that part and went right to the project. On the right is Enadis, our CAPD Coordinator. Filters come out of the molds and are filled with water for 5 days to bring them up to strength. There is no reinforcing in the concrete. We are spending money on accelerant which helps cure the concrete faster.

Jose keeping track of dates and molds. Filter molds have differences and we need to know which ones to repair or polish inside so the concrete does not stick.

After 5 days with water, the filters are dried out and washed with soap prior to having some stucco applied and then 2 coats of paint.

CAPD Coordinator Enadis explaining the family registration letter to a group. Families are highly motivated and within days we had 200 letters signed.

Setting up the first functioning filter for a Health Brigade that will happen in this space later in the day. Amazing what stucco and paint can do to make a rough concrete box look great.

Jose, on the left, is the "maestro" in charge of production of the filters. Here he poses with the filter and part of his team.

During the Health Brigade, CAPD Coordinator Enadis used one of the sites on the circle tour that families took, to explain ProgramaAgua Sana to the parents of the 150 kids seen that day. Learning by spacedrepetition. Families must also attend a mandatory seminar on Hygiene and the filters prior to receiving one.

The first drink of filtered water. The fellow on the left is a doctor (in case of trouble) - seriously, he is a candidate for a political position and knew a photo opportunity when he saw one. I must have got the chlorine dose right because I suffered no ill effects from drinking swamp water. Some of the guys tried it, but the women would not touch it. BOB