Six Senses

The biosand filters being used for the project are HydrAid BioSand Filters, manufactured in Michigan. The project includes technology, research, installation, education, maintenance, quality assurance and support through a global network of partners.

The HydrAid system is founded on proven biosand water filter technology that has been effectively used around the world for decades. When properly implemented, it filters out 99.9% of the parasites, bacteria, and viruses from dirty water. It is effective in the control of diarrhea, one of the most deadly waterborne diseases, which is estimated to cause 1.5 million child deaths per year.

The biosand filter utilizes specified layers of gravel and sand of specific grades and sizes. In addition, it is topped by a biological layer which assists in the purification process.

The biosand filter is easy to install, delivers high volumes, requires little maintenance, and produces clean water for up to 10 years.

Water Charity began evaluating and using the technology in specific long-term applications, starting in 2008. When the earthquake struck in Haiti, it became evident that HydrAid filters would be the ideal tool for immediate use in the relief effort, especially in light of the close proximity of Haiti to the US mainland.

Various agencies and organizations came together to develop a plan to produce, deliver, and install HydrAid filters in Haiti. The original HydrAid design was enhanced for disaster relief with additional disinfection technology by Amway engineers. The procedure called for treatment of the water, first with chlorine, and then additional filtration through a carbon filter. An important addition was the inclusion of a receptacle for storing the clean water. The additional disinfection serves a number of purposes, including further reduction of pathogens, elimination of the waiting period before the filter can be used, and reduction of the possibility of re-contamination of the treated water.

Amway teamed up with the Safe Water Team, a West Michigan nonprofit organization, Thirsting to Serve, a Michigan Rotary group, and Triple Quest, a Joint Venture of Cascade Engineering and Windquest Group, to supply HydrAid filter systems to Haitian schools, clinics, and other earthquake victims.

The delivery process got underway when a truckload of 22 skids of HydrAid filters, complete with filter sand, was shipped to Jacksonville, Florida. The U.S. Navy then transported the filters to Haiti. The NGO Pure Water for the World is handling the distribution and installation in Haiti.

Your donation towards this project will be used in its entirety for the purchase of the filters, the ground transportation, and the installation of the filters in Haiti.

Flash:  Every dollar you donate will be matched by Six Senses Resorts & Spas!

The Center for Public Health Preparedness at Loma Linda University has sent a team to assess the needs and deliver emergency relief to the people of Haiti. Dr. Sinclair, Assistant Professor at the Loma Linda School of Public Health, and an expert in water and sanitation, is accompanying the team.

We purchased commercially-available filters and chlorine, and gave them to Dr. Sinclair to take with him.

Urgent and difficult problems demand simple solutions. Using this direct method, we are able to help deliver life-saving filters precisely where they are needed, NOW.

Your donation is urgently requested for this project. 100% of your donation will go to purchase water filters, which are being deployed now. If you are looking for a vehicle to make a donation to the relief effort in Haiti, you will not find a more direct and cost-efficient way to contribute.

Flash:  Every dollar you donate will be matched by Six Senses Resorts & Spas!

The immediate response has been to scale up production of chlorine and provide chlorine and buckets to families in the areas surrounding Port-au-Prince, the city most affected by the devastation.

In the longer term, it is anticipated that rural areas will experience an influx of refugees from the destruction of Port-au-Prince and overwhelm current rural water supplies. Increasing the capacity for household water treatment in rural Haiti will provide clean drinking water to the refugee population and the existing population.

In a crisis situation, simple solutions which are easy to implement at once are called for. Teams on the ground will provide safe storage systems (a bucket with tap and lid), chlorine supply, and training to affected, rural families and communities.

The chlorine solution that is used is that recommended by the Center for Disease Control. The simple water treatment system allows families to obtain water from any source, add one capful of chlorine solution to 5 gallons of water, wait 30 minutes, and then drink safe water. Experience shows that even the poorest families can treat their own water regularly with this system.

Sources for chlorine generators, buckets, taps, and chlorine tablets and granules have been established. Emergency response personnel will visit affected rural communities, identify community health workers who can assist with the distribution, and train technicians to implement and teach the processes and ensure compliance.

Your donation is urgently requested to assist us in this endeavor. Please click on the Donate button below. 100% of your contribution will immediately go directly toward work on the ground in this emergency relief effort.

Flash:  Every dollar you donate will be matched by Six Senses Resorts & Spas!

In the municipality of Santa Apolonia, Ellen works with two rural agricultural communities, Chuaparal I—an indigenous population—and Cojulya—a primarily Ladino population. Over half of the 47 families in the two groups do not have latrines. For those that do, the latrines, which often serve for more than one family, are in poor condition and do little to aid fecal control.

The communities are plagued by chronic diarrhea and other gastrointestinal diseases. The groups have requested a community latrine project, which will benefit a combined 300 men, women, and children.

Ellen is part of the Rural Home Preventive Health project, Peace Corps Guatemala. Volunteers are partnered with local health centers in various municipalities. Each health center reports to departmental level health centers which then report to the ministry of health.

Volunteers work with health center personnel to inform the local populace about preventive health habits and then to construct needed technology.

The water table is high in both communities, and pit latrines contaminate the ground water. Thus, composting latrines are the best option for the families.

Composting latrines are above ground and do not contaminate the water table. The movable seat sits on top of one side of a large cement box that is separated into two compartments. One side is used at a time, throwing ash or other dry matter after each use (to aid in decomposition) until it is full. The side is then sealed with a cement top and after six months the fecal matter decomposes into compost. During this time the family is using the other side of the latrine and the cycle continues.

The nutrient-rich compost is then used in the fields to enhance the quality of the crops. Furthermore, the composting latrine has a life-span that is over four times that of a pit latrine. The women have also noted that these latrines alleviate the common fear of children falling into pit latrines.

The latrines require continual education. Therefore, several models will be constructed, two in a school shared by the communities and three in group member homes. The school models will aid in instructing the children how to use the latrines and the home models will allow for the families to share their experiences.

All members of the interested families will be required to attend several presentations on the importance of the latrines, how they function, and how to maintain them. After three months, the families will construct their latrines with the help of a mason.

The two women’s groups are currently forming a single legalized group in order to aid one another in bettering the health of their communities. The primary goals of the group are to further education regarding preventive health and to provide needed technology projects for the communities.

For this project, the elected representatives of the group will not only be helping with the implementation of the project, but also teaching community members about the importance of a latrine for family health. The experience of this project will enable the united women to continue education and create future projects.

The community will provide the labor and all gravel needed for construction. The municipality will provide the funding and labor for the five models. In addition, the municipality has agreed to supply sand, transport of materials, and the mason for the family latrines.

This is a terrific project, which has brought together many entities and funding sources to get the job done. Water Charity is pleased to be able to enable the proliferation of composting latrines in these communities, leading to great impact on their public health.

$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts and Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

Any additional donations using the Donate button below will be used to fund other projects by this PCV and/or other PCVs in this country.

Intestinal worms and other parasites are especially dangerous for children, making them susceptible to dehydration, diarrhea, and malnutrition. Additionally, unkempt well areas attract mosquitoes, increasing the incidence of malaria.

Recognizing water quality as a major obstacle to their wellbeing, the community formed a Water and Sanitation Committee in December, 2008. Since then, they have held monthly meetings to discuss the community’s sanitation problems, and have participated in two major training sessions with Peace Corps staff.

The Committee designed, implemented, and completed 19 highly successful top-well repairs. Each repair involved intense structural reinforcement as well as the installation of a metal door to protect against debris and contamination.

The committee supplemented the construction with ongoing educational activities and monitoring of water treatment and sanitation behaviors.

The success of the first project generated such a positive response that the community is enthusiastically ready to expand their efforts. In this project, 35 top-well repairs will be done in the central village and surrounding hamlets.

The villagers are contributing 26% of the total budget, consisting of labor, gravel, boulders, transportation of materials, as well as a small amount of funds.

After the completion of the top-well repairs, the committee will monitor water quality and perform chlorine treatments. In addition, they will collect money from users to be utilized for repairs and future development.

The project is being carried out under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer E. Hurley.

This project restores ineffective wells to use as a resource for the community. The dynamic planning and implementation of the prior project, together with a large community contribution toward the project show their commitment. Their demonstrated fiscal responsibility, educational participation, and pre-planning for monitoring and maintenance all come together to ensure sustainability.

$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts and Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

Any additional donations using the Donate button below will be used to fund other projects by this PCV and/or other PCVs in this country.

The climate is temperate in the west, but reaches 104 degrees in summer in the lowveld. The rainy season is during the summer, when rainfall may reach 78 inches in the west.

This project is to be done in a community located in the rural, dry lowveld. An extremely high unemployment rate, the highest global rate of HIV/AIDS occurrence, and a recent drought have hindered all development efforts while making progress all the more necessary.

One of the most pressing issues facing community members is lack of clean and reliable sources of water for drinking and sustaining small gardens (often the only reliable source of food for rural Swazi families). Current water supplies are prohibitively expensive to develop and maintain and people are continually dependent upon rain fall.

This project is to convert a local naturally-occurring well into a functioning tap. It is being carried out under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer S. Parcell in collaboration with the community. The project was developed with the help of a local rural water expert, after a series of community-wide meetings.

The community is contributing all of the labor and some of the funds for materials. Total community participation is 33% of the project cost.

This project will provide approximately 1,000 community members, located within a one-mile range of the well, with access to clean water. Thus it will have a tremendously high impact for the money spent.

This project has been funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts & Spas as a major contributor, as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

Any additional donations using the Donate button below will be used to fund other projects by this PCV and/or other PCVs in this country.

There is a critical need for this project, which shows the relationship between effective sanitation and a safe water supply. Many families in the community do not have toilets, or have toilets that are in disrepair. However a critical factor is that some families have toilets located too close to a well, thereby affecting the safety of the drinking water.

The residents of the village, several associations (locally led NGO’s) from within the community and from surrounding areas, and individuals have given varying contributions of support to the project. The community participation is over 53% of the project cost.

The beneficiaries include 32 men, 28 women, 20 boys and 13 girls. The families will be required to provide labor for their own homes as well as for those who do not have someone who is physically able to do the work.

Families will be required to attend technical training and health classes. Participants will learn how to build and maintain a functional pour-flush toilet, about the impact hygiene and sanitation practices have on their health and how to make choices that promote healthy behavior.

The project is being carried out under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer M. Alexander.

Water Charity is providing the “last dollars” to initiate this project, which has been some time in the planning, and will be sure to have a substantial impact on the health of the community.

$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts and Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

Any additional donations using the Donate button below will be used to fund other projects by this PCV and/or other PCVs in this country.

The community is made up of 74 houses and 242 people. The community has a church, baseball field, two local stores, and a cooperative. The water source is presently used for bathing, drinking, and domestic use.

The project is being administered by Peace Corps Volunteer Andrew Gibbons, in collaboration with the community.

An older water system in the community became inoperative when there was a landslide, which destroyed the tank and much of the tubing. The community is taking precautions to prevent future landslides by placing gabions at the source, and planting trees and bamboo.

The project plans includes building a new intake tank, replacing the majority of the old tubing, and installing new tap stands at the homes of the beneficiaries.

The community is contributing the labor and some funds, amounting to 57% of the total budget.

The community has formed a governing body, the Water Committee, to oversee and organize every aspect of construction, including labor and movement of materials.

As part of the project plan, the Water Committee will write statutes, collect the monthly quotas as well as any other funds, request materials from potential donors, and write contracts for beneficiaries. Thus sustainability is ensured.

Water Charity has advanced the final funding necessary to allow the project work to begin.

$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts and Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

Any additional donations using the Donate button below will be used to fund other projects by this PCV and/or other PCVs in this country.

This is to reconstruct an existing water catchment tank that supplies water to one of the community’s two secondary schools. The current tank was poorly designed and is easily contaminated, and is currently a source of illness to the students. This project is the only means to provide the school with a dependable clean water source.

In addition to the reconstruction of the tank, a pipe will be built to the school. Then, piping will be run through the school, with valves to be placed in the kitchen, auditorium, toilet/shower room, clothes washing area, and garden.

The community’s total contribution to the project is about 30%. A local business is providing transportation. The school is donating the money to purchase the sand, gravel, stone, connectors, and wire mesh.

The Headmaster of the school and Peace Corps Volunteer E. Myers are administering this project. A training course on water-borne diseases and water users’ rights and responsibilities will be given to the teachers and water board.

Future maintenance costs and labor will be provided through the school’s miscellaneous fund, thus assuring sustainability.

This project will provide safe water to 200 students of the school. It is an immediate high-impact low-cost solution to the critical needs of the school.

This project has been funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts & Spas as the major contributor, as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

Any additional donations using the Donate button below will be used to fund other projects by this PCV and/or other PCVs in this country.