Clean water improves health in Laurel Galan

Water Committee members test the water

Laurel Galán, is a community located about 10 kilometers from San Carlos. It has five sectors and a population of 1,400 people. In 2011 Self-Help staff visited the community to establish a Water Committee that would examine Laurel Galán’s water quality and at the same time promote the CTI-8 Chlorinators.

In June 2012, Self-Help installed the first chlorinator in the community. It was set in a concrete collector with the capacity of 34 cubic meters of water.

The beneficiaries are really happy with the results of this new technology and found that improving drinking water has had a direct impact on the health of their families. On behalf of the community, the Water Committee President Walter Machado thanked Self-Help International for bringing technology that is good and easy to get and also effectively cleans the water.

Nurse Alicia Ocampo

According to Nurse Alicia Machado Ocampo, who is in charge of the Health Center at Laurel Galán, the treatment of the water with the CTI-8 Chlorinator has had a positive impact on the community’s health. Now the Health Center staff are collecting data to support their theories.

“The people are healthier, especially children, even though at the beginning they had to get use to drinking the chlorinated water,” said Alicia. “We still need to work on the hygienic practices of this community. Starting with their own homes and family members”.

Walter and Orlando installing the Chlorinator

Alicia said that before using the CTI-8 Chlorinator people used to visit the health center with diarrhea, parasitic disease, and kidney infections among others. Now there are fewer patients with these types of problems.

Some areas of the community are not receiving chlorinated water yet. In this part of the area, the water is stored
in a big metal container. Because of this it has been challenge for the Water Committee and Self-Help to install a CTI-8 Chlorinator.

Thanks to your support, Self-Help International can continue to provide clean water for Laurel Galán and communities just like it.