Ecuadorian Exchange (part 2 of 3): Learning from Tandana Foundation

For a long time this trip was just a dream. Although multiple people at Foundation Beyond Belief had put a lot of hours into its planning, in the end it seemed impossible. International laws and foreign immigration systems made it extremely difficult to get to Ecuador. It didn’t matter that Ecuador is visa-free for 90…

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Ecuadorian Exchange: learning from human rights groups in Quito (part 1 of 3)

When I arrived in Quito I was jet lagged and exhausted from two days of flights filled with lengthy and agonizing layovers. I was also suffering from altitude sickness coming from Ghana where the altitude is around 880 meters (compared to Quito’s 2,850 meters). However, I was excited to be in Ecuador and really looking forward to meeting…

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Water Ecuador gives update post earthquake

On Saturday, April 16th, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit about 17 miles (27km) from Muisne, Ecuador. At least 673 people were killed and 27,732 people injured. The quake was Ecuador's largest since 1979 and was six times more powerful than the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan. More than 130 aftershocks followed. The cities of Manta,…

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Ecuadoran Earthquake

On Saturday, April 16th, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit about 17 miles (27km) from Muisne, Ecuador at a relatively shallow depth of 11.9 miles (19.2km). Shallow earthquakes create more damage because of their proximity to the earth’s surface. On Sunday evening, the government reported that 246 people had died and 2,527 were injured. With estimates…

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FBB launches drive in wake of earthquake in Ecuador

The hands that help are better far than lips that pray. – Robert Green Ingersoll Please help Foundation Beyond Belief put humanist compassion to work by sharing this post and donating what you can to help the people of Ecuador. On Saturday, April 16th, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit about 17 miles (27km) from Muisne,…

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Pathfinders Diary: Leaving Haiti, and starting work in Ecuador

Pathfinders ProjectBy Liz Moody

After a month of laudable work building latrines, promoting public health, and improving their machete skills in La Fond-Jeannette, the Pathfinders bid farewell to Haiti. They left Haiti in the same style in which they had entered it, which is to say with several hurdles and plenty of adventure. After an early morning hike to the bus stop they found that on that particular day the bus had left much earlier than anticipated, which meant another hour’s walk to a different stop. Finally, they caught a ride with a passing truck, piled snuggly on with thirty-five other people and several thousand pounds of oranges. An eight-hour bus ride and two flights later, they arrived in Ecuador, where they will continue working to promote good public health and prevent disease, though with a different focus—water.

The Pathfinders’ work in Ecuador focuses on all aspects of water, including digging wells, installing water purification systems, repairing existing water systems, and helping to educate about clean water, hygiene, and sanitation. They are partnering with Water Ecuador, a nonprofit devoted to providing clean, affordable drinking water to disadvantaged communities. 

About Water Ecuador
When American medical student Alex Harding was volunteering in a Muisne, Ecuador, hospital in 2006, he noticed a disturbing trend. Week after week, children came to be treated for diarrhea, vomiting, and internal parasites—all illnesses caused by unsafe water. Being ill was almost a normal part of life in Muisne, and residents were extremely concerned by their water quality, but lacked the resources to effect change on their own. After a year of research, fundraising, and team building, Harding returned to help residents construct a water treatment center, and Water Ecuador was born.

Water Ecuador believes that “a water program should be designed to last forever” and is focused on solving the water problem rather than offering temporary fixes. The Water Ecuador team found that existing water treatment approaches commonly used in developing countries were often cumbersome, and this has prompted Water Ecuador to seek innovative solutions that are effective, can be swiftly implemented, and will endure for generations. Community involvement is an integral part of the work; before beginning a water center, Water Ecuador meets with locals to gauge interest and identify interested individuals or groups to partner with for on-site support. Water Ecuador realizes that education is a large part of sustainable development, and works to inform people about good health practices, prevention of waterborne disease, and water conservation. Overall, Water Ecuador is devoted to empowering local stakeholders with the knowledge and resources to build a healthier community, a humanist philosophy that’s good to the last drop.

For more information about these projects, visit Water Ecuador and the Pathfinders’ blogs.

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Water Ecuador prepares to build its newest Water Center

Water EcuadorBy Conor Robinson, Pathfinders Project director

Back when I ran Pathfinders Project out of my garage, months before I approached Foundation Beyond Belief to discuss the idea of launching a Humanist Action: Ghana, I knew I wanted to focus on clean water work. Clean water projects are never just clean water projects—they improve health, increase access to education, empower women and communities, and free up resources for development. 

Most people don’t realize the severity of the global water crisis. Waterborne diseases kill more people every year than conflict. These deaths disproportionately affect children—90% of the more than 1.5 million water-related deaths each year are in children under five years old. 

People spend hundreds of billions of hours every year just walking for water. The responsibility usually falls to women and young girls, who often face harassment and sexual assault as they walk miles to the nearest source, which is unprotected and likely contaminated. Time spent walking keeps the girls from school and the women from work and taking care of their families.

Water Ecuador’s approach to the water crisis in coastal Ecuador is simple, honest, and effective. The organization essentially creates a market for clean water by educating the community about the importance of drinking it, and then they use the revenues generated by water purchases to pay for maintenance of a Water Center and the water manager’s salary. Proper care of the Water Center is incentivized because it is a source of income; consequently, communities are invested in protecting the source of clean water generation after generation.

Currently, Water Ecuador runs six Water Centers in rural Ecuador that provide clean water to more than 2,000 people daily. I was thrilled when I heard that Foundation Beyond Belief is supporting Water Ecuador with a Poverty and Health grant in the fourth quarter of 2013, and I am proud that the Pathfinders will help Water Ecuador break ground on its seventh Water Center, on Isla Puná, off the southern coast of Ecuador.

Like the other Water Centers, the one in Isla Puná is being built in collaboration with the community leaders and residents after grassroots education about the importance of clean water. Water Ecuador is working to have things on Isla Puná ready for construction by the beginning of February, when the Pathfinders arrive. In addition to the construction, the Pathfinders will be involved with Water Ecuador’s continued education efforts in the Isla Puná community. The Pathfinders will give presentations in schools to teach children of all ages about good water and hygiene practices, and they will visit families in their homes to learn about how the water crisis has affected them.

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Two stories from Water Ecuador: Rossi and Zurullo

Water EcuadorClean drinking water is a precious commodity in rural Ecuador, and many simply cannot afford it. Instead, many families, including young children, drink untreated, contaminated water, which spreads waterborne diseases and causes chronic illness. While in Ecuador next year, Pathfinders Prjoect will work with Water Ecuador, our current Poverty & Health beneficiary, to dig wells, install water purification systems, and educate about clean water, hygiene, and sanitation. Here are two stories from Water Ecuador about how limited access to clean water affects the lives of children in Ecuador.

Rossi’s Story, as told by Allie

Water Ecuador: RossiEvery morning Rossi wakes with the sun. When I knew her, she was in 4th grade and 9 years old. School starts at 8:20. This leaves 2.5 hours of daylight before school to take care of household necessities. Fetching bathing, cooking, and “toilet” water are definite necessities, so Rossi makes several trips in the coastal rain forest she calls home. Obtaining reliable, clean drinking water is costly and inconvenient: $2.00 for a large jug. Keep in mind that $2.00 is enough to feed a family of seven a somewhat filling dinner. This agua potable has to be obtained across the river in town, an even further journey than filling jugs for cooking and washing. The river water (when high it reaches just under my chin) determines when we cross the river and how we cross the river. It is usually Rossi who walks to the store (across the river, down the beach, and into town via canoe) to gather a few eggs, a pan, etc., for the family. The challenge of obtaining water is intricately woven into Rossi’s daily life and the lives of so many others along the Northern Coast and other parts of Ecuador.

Zurullo’s Story, as told by Alex

I’ll tell you about a boy I know in Muisne named Zurullo. He was four years old at the time I knew him. His mother and aunts owned a fruit stand on the corner under the building where I lived in Muisne. I saw his family did not buy water from our water system in Muisne but instead collected well water and rainwater for drinking. I used to talk to them about why they should protect the health of their children by drinking treated water, but I think the risk of waterborne disease did not fully sink in with them, and they were also a family without much money who felt pressure not to spend money on water. So they all drank untreated water, including Zurullo. I distinctly remember seeing Zurullo having diarrhea in the middle of the street or on the sidewalk outside my building on multiple occasions. This is a little graphic, but I saw worms in his poop, and once I saw blood. I also noticed that Zurullo was smaller than the other children his age he would play with, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether he had nutritional deficiencies caused by repeated bouts of diarrhea and chronic parasitic infections. Unfortunately, children all over the world suffer long-term consequences from waterborne diseases. They are unable to attend school because they are sick; they have nutritional deficiencies that stunt their physical growth and mental development.

Learn more about the work Water Ecuador is doing to provide clean drinking water in rural Ecuador by visiting their website or following them on Facebook. To support Pathfinders Project as they carry out their year-long international service mission, click here.

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Clean, accessible, affordable water for rural Ecuador

Water EcuadorBy Sarah Henry

Water Ecuador, our current Poverty and Health beneficiary, is working to ensure a clean supply of drinking water at affordable prices to impoverished communities and families throughout Ecuador.

The centerpieces of Water Ecuador’s work are the water centers themselves. The units are self-sustaining and can produce more than 8,000 liters of clean water every day. The water centers provide clean water for about one-fifth the price of water shipped in from a major city, and the water centers are more easily accessible for low-income families. Each water center can provide more than 100 families with clean water for routine tasks every day.

Pathfinders Project, the yearlong humanist service trip, will be working with Water Ecuador in February 2014.

To learn more about Water Ecuador’s work, check out their website or visit their Facebook page.

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Water Ecuador

Water Ecuador is about connections. They develop strong local connections in areas of Ecuador where waterborne illness is an epidemic. The founder noticed, while volunteering at a hospital, that many of the same children regularly came to the clinic with the same recurring problems. He worked with local communities to establish water centers, finding a…

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