SELF-HELP INTERNATIONAL IS BRINGING CLEAN WATER TO A COMPANY’S WORKERS

By Orlando Jose Montiel Salas | Clean Water Program Officer

Self-Help International in Nicaragua has been working for 11 years with Frutan, a company that raises oranges on the banks of the San Juan River east of San Carlos, where Self-Help’s Nicaraguan headquarters are located.

Having access to high-quality water is important for the hundreds of employees of Frutan, one of the largest companies in the province of Rio San Juan. 

Many of the men and women who work for Frutan come from communities that are a great distance from the workplace. Some must leave home at 3 a.m. so they can start their workday at 6 a.m. Many have had to bring their own clean water in addition to their food because the company didn’t provide them with water that was safe for human consumption. Recent changes in workplace regulations have required the improvement of water supplied to workers to prevent illnesses caused by poor-quality water. 

At first, Frutan tried on its own to provide safe water for its employees, but because of the isolated location of the company’s orange groves, it wasn’t possible to access a chlorination system.  After an exhaustive investigation of ways that the company could comply with the new clean water regulations, in 2014, Frutan became aware of Self-Help Nicaragua’s clean water program. Since then, Frutan and Self-Help have been working together to improve the quality of the company’s water, so all its workers have access to clean water that is free of diseases.

This collaboration has been made in coordination with the company’s Occupational Health and Safety (HSO is the Spanish acronym) division. Frutan’s agricultural operations consist of four separate farms, and each farm has its own facilities for workers and administrative offices. To cover the different operations, Frutan operates seven wells with submersible electric pumps to supply and distribute water for its 980 employees. (There are 650 seasonal workers who are hired for six months at a time for harvesting duties and 330 permanent workers, including administrative personnel.) Each well has its own water system with a chlorinator installed. All seven chlorinators have been installed over the past 11 years with the assistance of Self-Help, including new installations to replace the original chlorinators that have worn out as 11 years have passed.

Frutan has come to trust Self-Help’s clean water chlorinators because testing of the water by government agencies that supervise the safety of workers has never found pathogens that can adversely affect the workers’ health. Frutan’s maintenance managers like the fact that the Self-Help chlorinators are easy to maintain and economical to operate.

Self-Help also provides comprehensive technical training so that Frutan’s employees who oversee the company’s worker safety have the knowledge to continuously monitor the water chlorination systems, so they are working properly to supply clean water. Self-Help also assists the Frutan HSO personnel in making sure that the amount of chlorine used to sanitize the water is adequate and not excessive. 

Self-Help is proud to be able to provide a clean water program that is helping a company supply clean water for its workers. Self-Help’s objective has always been to provide clean water for people in their homes or workplaces. In the case of Frutan, Self-Help is supplying clean water to hundreds of people. Self-Help has demonstrated that the organization cares about the health and well-being of all people by supplying high-quality drinking water.

When donations are made to Self-Help, it ensures that many people can improve their health and well-being by having access to clean water. By having clean water at their workplace with the assistance of Self-Help, Frutan’s workers have the satisfaction of knowing that the company is supplying them with clean water in line with government regulations, so they don’t have to bring their own water to work.

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