Colonía Satelite Community, Honduras
Water access was a constant source of worry and trouble for the Colonía Satelite community. The 300 residents had a piped water system, but the weak water pressure meant that those who lived on the outskirts of the community rarely had any water. Even if their water was running, it was for such a short window of time that residents were unable to collect what they needed quickly enough. These community members either had to trek to the borehole that served as the source of the water system or beg for water from their neighbors.
Since water was scarce, the community had to create a rationing schedule so everyone could get at least a little water. Basic hygiene was abandoned in order to conserve water for drinking and cooking, which led to the spread of germs and diseases in Colonía Satelite. And time spent recovering from illness meant time away from work, chores, and, in the case of the community’s children, school. The community members were caught in a vicious cycle of scarcity, need, and ill health that they couldn’t escape.
The community members wanted better for their children, for them to experience life without scarcity, need, or illness. They knew they needed a permanent solution to their water crisis.
When community leaders heard about our work in their region, they knew they had found the answer to their water crisis. Our team visited Colonía Satelite to assess the situation and found the community was in dire need of a safe water source. The team returned with a drilling rig to complete the project.
The staff also helped the Colonía Satelite community establish sustainability practices to help ensure a future of safe water access, guiding them in the selection of a water committee. The committee will oversee the care and maintenance of the well. Our team will stay in contact with the community to support sustainability efforts and monitor the well’s functionality.
As part of the goal to help the community understand how to use the safe water as a means of improving their health, the staff held a hygiene and sanitation promotion activity. This series of interactive lessons included sessions on proper handwashing technique, oral hygiene, how to care for the new hand pump, and how to safely transport and store water from the well.
The community can now envision a future that isn’t marred by thirst or need. They take pride in their ability to implement community-driven solutions to prevent their well from falling into disrepair, modeling safe water sustainability for future generations.
COMMUNITY DETAILS
| Exact Coordinates: | Latitude: 13.33185 Longitude: -87.12606 |
| Previous Water: | Piped Water System |
| Total Users: | 300 |
CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
| Pump Type: | Hand Pump |
| Depth of Well: | 62 m |
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Santos Albertina Osorio is a 50-year-old housewife who lives in Colonía Satelite. She also serves as the Vice President of the community board. She and the other board members were concerned about how some of their neighbors had no water access at all. She said, “[T]he houses at the far edge of the community were the most affected, as they are the ones that get less water, and when they did, it was only for a short period of time. Many of these families had to get water in other ways and since the [water] trucks do not pass very often, sometimes they had to ask neighbors from another area of the colony to help them with a little water. We as a community had to implement rationing schedules.”
Santos expressed her gratitude for the new well and shared that the community has plans to improve upon and expand their new water system: “With this new well, families who have suffered the most from the lack of water will be the ones most benefited. I am grateful for this project, and for having achieved this great accomplishment as a community. First, we are going to fence in the well to secure the area. Then, with the water committee, we are going to work on connecting the well to the [existing]water system to improve the water supply.”
