Current Water Project

We are just a couple of months away from finishing our second major water project, this in San Felipe, El Salvador. San Felipe is a small village of 75 families (335 habitants) where most struggle financially due to low crop prices and little employment opportunities. They are faced with a the added challenge of surviving in a community where one must walk 15-30 minutes down a steep mountain in order to haul the daily water supply, just so they can drink, cook, clean, and bathe each day.

The community members have been working hard in their volunteer work groups since November 2005. We are just 4 working weeks away from completing this water project, but needed to put a hold on construction in order to raise more funds. We hope to resume the project in February of 2007 in order to achieve the villagers’ dream of clean, safe water right up to their homes.

Thanks to the collaboration of various Oregon Rotary Clubs in district 5100 and Rotary International, the San Felipe Villagers, the AWE Foundation, and the Coatepeque, El Salvador City Hall, we are very optimistic that we will be able to complete the construction and installation of the water system around April of 2006.

The water will be pumped from a newly dug well to a 8,000 gallon distribution tank. The water will them be fed by PVC pipe right up to each participating villager’s home.

The AWE Foundation offers water rights to any villager willing to work. Each villager is asked to collaborate financially with $110 per water right, but if they are unable to raise the necessary funds, they are allowed to work extra days for credit.