wurld funded this project just before the tragic tsunami in October, so we were very concerned for the safety of those involved when we heard the news.
The village men were lucky because they were to be working on the project when the tsunami hit, but everyone got out in time after the earthquake. The project had been started but fortunately not destroyed. There was some minor damage to a rock wall the men had built, but they’ve fixed that and are keeping going. The supplies were all in a secure location and not washed away.
what’s the water issue?:
- The source for their water currently is a pipe from a river in a nearby village. When heavy rain comes, the pipe water is tainted brown and is unfit for drinking or cooking. Further to this, sometimes the pipes get turned off for no apparent reason and they have to start fetching water.
- The village does have a small river which forms the eastern border of the village, and this has a freshwater spring bubbling up. This area is cemented off, forming a very small reservoir. But it’s not big enough for practical use and the clean water runs into the river unused. Plus, when heavy rain comes, the water is tainted brown and is unfit for drinking or cooking.
- This project will create a vaita’ele or freshwater pool with the spring. The small existing reservoir will be covered and feed in to the large pool, which will be used as a source of clean, fresh water to be used for drinking and cooking, as well as for laundry and bathing.
- Funds will be used to buy cement and other supplies. The village will provide all labour and the services of a carpenter to oversee construction.
- This project will serve around 350 people in 40 households.
who’s running it?: We have funded it through an organisation called ‘Water Charity’. They have an initiative called ‘Appropriate Projects’ where they identify small but critical water and sanitation projects worldwide. All projects are less than US$500 and must be completed within a month. No bureaucracy, appropriate technology and high immediate impact (just what we like).
when’s it happening: We (Jared & Ruth) visited the project on 14th November, and it should be all finished by the end of November. Plus, it will be named after wurld!
cost: US$500, and this project has been funded before we’ve even sold a bottle of wurld water… so get buying and we can do much more!
why: We chose this project because of the close link the Pacific Islands have with NZ. It’s great to help your neighbours!
For more info, have a look at the Appropriate Projects website.
We’ve just been to see the project, so we’ll put more photos and video up really soon!
Averill Strasser: Congratulations on the start of a brilliant concept, your first sales, and your new website. Thanks for your dedication toward making safe water available to the world.
Tweets that mention Project #1: Salesatele freshwater spring | wurld -- Topsy.com: [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Water Charity, Candy Batista. Candy Batista said: RT @WaterCharity: http://bit.ly/6h6Lx0 Here's an example of how Water Charity successfully collaborates with motivated businesses! {In t … [...]
Wurld: [...] water goes to help those in developing countries get clean fresh water! They have already funded a project over in a remote village in Samoa. We hope this is the start of many such projects for Wurld! [...]
Project #1: Salesatele freshwater spring – Update | wurld: [...] freshwater spring – Update ShareErica Wales, the Peace Corps volunteer who is running the Salesatele freshwater spring project in Samoa has recently posted about our visit there in November, along with a couple more [...]
Welcome to Connect Now visitors | wurld: [...] at wurld want to have an impact on the lives of others, people like those living in Salesatele Village in Samoa, where we have sponsored a clean water [...]