Humans of AguaClara: John Finn

John Finn was a founding member of AguaClara Reach (ACR) and served as Board Director (2017-2021) and Board President (2017-2019). He was interviewed by AguaClara Reach volunteers as he stepped into a new role as Technical Advisor to the ACR Board in July 2021. John continues to volunteer with ACR to share his knowledge, passion, and insight that has gotten the organization to where it is today.

AguaClara Reach thanks John for all he has shared over the past few years!

A summary of the interview with John, which was conducted by AguaClara volunteers in July 2021, is posted below. The full interview follows.

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Interview Highlights

My name is John Finn and I live with my family in Ithaca, New York. My father was a Chemical Engineering professor at Cornell University so growing up we talked a lot about microbiology and wastewater treatment. For a majority of my career, I worked with an interdisciplinary team to cleanup hazardous sites on a project-by-project basis. In the middle of my career, my wife, little daughter, and I went to Cambodia to volunteer with a world development and relief organization. My experience in Cambodia shaped my worldview and eventually got me involved with AguaClara. I am now in Ithaca raising my family and retired from day to day engineering consulting. For the past five years I've been focusing on climate change, education advocacy, AguaClara work and habitat protection with my daughter.

How did you become involved with AguaClara Reach?

Many things have to do with friendships right? In 1995 I returned with my family to my hometown of Ithaca and became friends with Monroe [Weber-Shirk]. Monroe had similar overseas service work experience and our daughters became friends as well. Since 1995 I’ve been following the development of AguaClara technologies and joined AguaClara LLC as an advisor in 2012. In the summer of 2017, I worked with May Sharif to transition the organization from AguaClara LLC to AguaClara Reach, the current non-profit.

What have your roles been at ACR and what did that day-to-day work look like?

I was the president of the ACR Board of Directors from 2017-2019. From 2019 to summer 2021, I continued as a Board of Director and starting in July, I started serving as a technical advisor to the ACR Board. I am not an AguaClara specialist. I couldn’t design AguaClara technology myself, but I am able to communicate the impact of AguaClara technology to potential donors, partners, and advisors. I connect potential donors, partners, and advisors with ACR and help explain what ACR does, and what ACR aspires to do.

What strengths do you bring to ACR?

I am one of those people who enjoy talking with strangers or those who are just acquaintances, viewing them as future friends. I really enjoy understanding where people are coming from, what motivates them, why they might be interested in some part of AguaClara Reach. I also have been involved with business and consulting for decades so have experience in some areas around personnel issues, hiring, and contracts. So that gives some of the unique things that I bring to the organization.

What is your favorite or most memorable moment with ACR?

One of my favorite moments was celebrating ACR getting approved to get the federal designation of 501(c) in early 2018. That rolls off the tongue, “We are a non-profit. We are a 501(c) organization.” It seems like a simple thing, but it was not at all a simple thing. Another wonderful moment was in July 2019 when Alissa [Diminich], Zoe [Maisel], and Serena [Takada] really stepped up and said yes we will be a part of ACR.. That was just such a huge water shed when Alissa, Zoe, Serena and others got involved. To say that, “We are going to do this. We are going to rally and pull together. We are going to reform our organization and put fresh energy in.” And they really did and that was a huge high point for me as well.

Why is providing people with access to safe water so important to you?

There’s nothing like having lived among folks for whom they don’t take water for granted. I grew up in Ithaca, traveled around, and at no point did I wonder if I was going to have water or safe water ever. When I lived among folks in Cambodia for whom that was an open question. That was a new experience. The creative responses that people in that situation have been eye opening. My experience in Cambodia inspired me and led me to have enthusiasm for the work of AguaClara Reach and the potential of AguaClara Technology to close the gap in access to safe water.

What influencing factors have driven your career and life choices?

My father brought home grad students to dinner very often. It was an atmosphere where friendships were as important as the scholarship that he was involved in as a professor. Students from all over the world expanded my world view and encouraged me to try and understand where people are coming from. In terms of my career, making the world better in even a small way was fulfilling. Solving problems, finding better solutions, and fixing things with people in a team effort was sometimes more fun than fun. It motivates me in engineering and in life, some of the reasons I find joy working with ACR.

How do you spend your free time?

I have a great amount of hobbies. I call myself a dabbler. I just enjoy a lot of variety. For example, for the past 20 years I have been playing guitar. At first I could only play three chords but with time, YouTube, and the help of friends, I am now an intermediate guitarist. I like acoustic, pop, and various blue genres with American roots. I also make my own wine and cider at home. My father taught me and I’ve been making my own wine for the past 25 years. I enjoy sharing my wine with my family and friends. I also have many outdoor hobbies. Lately I have been kayaking and birding more.

Is there anything else you would like to see within the ACR community that you would like us to accomplish?

I’m excited and enthusiastic about this next phase of the organization. It's great to be a part of something that is growing and expanding, and I see that continuing. I see a handful of people doing a lot of the heavy lifting and I’ve been there too. I think at this stage it’s important to take care of ourselves and I think we’re good at doing that. It is important that we value and nurture our existing relationships and partnerships, but it is also important to engage more with other nonprofits, experts, partners, and donors. I would like to see us reach out to some of those organizations and people. ACR is a collaborative organization and there are others who share that mindset of collaboration. Creating win-win mutually beneficial partnerships will be helpful to expanding the work and the mission of AguaClara Reach.

Do you have any last comments?

It’s been a really great run! Never a dull moment and I wish everybody well. Especially volunteers like yourself; thank you for your enthusiasm and continued commitment to the work or the organization! I’m looking forward to seeing how this next phase develops and unfolds.

I’m glad to still be a part of it.

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Full Interview

My name is John Finn and I live with my family in Ithaca, New York. Ithaca is where I grew up as the son of Bob Finn, a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Cornell University. Biochemical Engineering and Microbiology were his fields so I grew up with the lab work of applied microbiology and wastewater treatment. That’s what we talked about a lot and what I did even as a teenager so I got an early start in applied microbiology and engineering and that led me to getting degrees in Chemical Engineering at the University of Connecticut and then a Master of Bioengineering at Cornell back home.

With that I went on to start my career in engineering with several firms that were doing remediation of contaminated sites across the U.S. With that career I lived in Boston, Seattle, and finally Ithaca. That’s what I did for a majority of my career: cleanup of hazardous sites on a project-by-project basis with a team of interdisciplinary geologists, scientists, and engineers for attorneys, regulatory agencies, clients who were responsible for those properties and their cleanup. That was really the thrust of my engineering career, very multidisciplinary, working as a consultant doing a lot of different things all in that area.

In the middle of that career, after about 10 years, my wife and l with our little daughter went to Cambodia. We just unplugged from our regular careers. For 2 years we did voluntary service with a world development and relief organization in Cambodia called the Men In Night, a church-based organization. At that point, Cambodia was still very much recovering from the Cambodia genocide and the Khmer Rouge were still very active. There was a curfew at night and restrictions on where we could go. There was a very heavy presence of mines, so we had to be very careful of where we walked out in the rural areas. All that was an intense experience but I was inspired by the Cambodian's that I worked with there, that I am still in touch with, as they rebuilt their country. It was a very inspiring time; I learned a lot from them.

That's really my background. I have a broad engineering knowledge, love working with interdisciplinary teams, and my worldview is shaped by my experience in Cambodia. I am now in Ithaca raising my family. I am no longer doing day to day engineering consulting. I retired from that. Now for the past five years I've been focusing on climate change, education advocacy, AguaClara work and habitat protection with my daughter.

How did you become involved with AguaClara Reach?

So this is a fun story. Many things have to do with friendships right? In 1995 I returned with my family to my hometown of Ithaca and soon after I returned I connected with other people who had done similar kinds of overseas service work including Monroe [Weber-Shirk]. We are a part of a group that met weekly and have continued to do so. So back in 95-96 we became friends, our daughters were the same age, and they became young friends.

Since 1995 I have been meeting and talking with Monroe once a week - socially just as friends. Through that I followed what has happened with Monroe’s research and teaching at Cornell. Monroe’s work was developing into this new avenue of what he would describe as “finding that edge of knowledge.” Essentially, finding those places where the knowledge of water treatment needed sharpening. I was following the progress that Monroe and AguaClara Cornell, his team of student researchers, were making. I really became involved more in 2012-2013. That was when three of Monroe’s former students had graduated and wanted to form a company that would take AguaClara technology and expand it through the world. That company was called AguaClara LLC and May Shariff was one of the founders. AguaClara LLC was looking for advisors and I was happy to join their team.

So May and I started our friendship. I was advising AguaClara LLC from time to time back in 2012. Through the evolution of the LLC into the final change to a non-profit, May asked me to be one of the primary people who would lead that effort. That was the summer of 2017. That’s when I started putting in more time and more hours as we created the non-profit. All together I’ve been working with AguaClara for nine years.

What have your roles been at ACR and what did that day-to-day work look like?

I was the president of the AguaClara Reach (ACR) Board of Directors starting in 2017 through July 2019. From 2019 to this summer I continued as a Board of Director and starting this summer I started serving as a technical advisor to the ACR Board.   

What I do right now is more hands off work with contacts that I’ve made and using my insights to be helpful to the organization. One of the main things is that I am not an AguaClara specialist, although I am an engineer and I am a generalist. I've followed it enough to get most of the technology, I understand it, but I couldn't design it myself. However, I am able to communicate it to others who are outside of AguaClara. I see it as one of the primary aspects of my role especially with potential donors or advisors to the organization.

So I've been in touch with people who've been involved with professional development, people who I've known since my days in Cambodia with a lot of experience in advising, people who would see an opportunity to be involved in financial support of the organization, and people who have a heart for the work and mission of the organization. I connect them with ACR and help explain what we do and what we aspire to do.

What strengths do you bring to ACR?

I am one of those people who enjoy talking with strangers or those who are just acquaintances, viewing them as future friends. So that’s one of the things: I can speak very well. Also I really enjoy understanding where people are coming from, what motivates them, why they might be interested in some part of AguaClara Reach. I am able to connect personally with partners, donors, advisors, volunteers, and employees.

I also have been involved with business and consulting for decades so have experience in some areas around personnel issues, hiring, and contracts. I can fill in as a consultant working with clients by putting myself in their shoes and know how to engage with them in ways that will lead to win-win situations. Although I’m not a contract specialist I have written and helped teams write competitive proposals for decades; I can help with proposals, prices and so forth. So that gives some of the unique things that I bring to the organization.

What is your favorite or most memorable moment with ACR?

It’s hard to pick just one but one of my favorites is definitely the moment when we were celebrating because we had achieved a pretty big milestone. Blixy [Taetzsch], May, Monroe, and I among others were working quite hard during the first year of ACR to get the federal designation of 501(c). That rolls off the tongue, “We are a non-profit. We are a 501(c) organization.” It seems like a simple thing, but it was not at all a simple thing. It was a lot of hoops to jump through and it was uncertain when we would be approved for that. The federal government needs to do that and there’s a long queue and a review process. Oftentimes it gets kicked back and you have to wait for another year. That did not happen with us. We worked really hard at providing applications that were thorough, understandable, complete, and met the criteria to be a non-profit as a New York State corporation and most importantly a 501(c)(3) with tax advantage status. That is not a small thing. It was a pretty big event that we were able to celebrate in early 2018 when we got the news on that.

 I would say another thing that was just as amazing and really wonderful was in July 2019 when Alissa [Diminich], Zoe [Maisel], and Serena [Takada] really stepped up and said yes we will be a part of ACR. Alissa said “I am willing, able and enthusiastic about taking up the president role in the organization” and that fresh energy was just a life saver in that part of 2019. There were a lot of difficulties, and I had a very tough time during that year. That was just such a huge water shed when Alissa, Zoe, Serena and others got involved. To say that, “We are going to do this. We are going to rally and pull together. We are going to reform our organization and put fresh energy in.” And they really did and that was a huge high point for me as well.

Why is providing people with access to safe water so important to you?

There’s nothing like having lived among folks for whom they don’t take water for granted. I have always lived in Ithaca. I grew up here. Traveled around and lived in other places in the U.S. At no point did I wonder if I was going to have water or safe water ever. When I lived among folks in Cambodia for whom that was an open question. Where they were going to get water and how much it was going to cost. How much of a percentage of their income was it going to take for their family to have water. That was a new experience. I had read about it, known about it, and seen movies about it but actually living and seeing that and the creative responses that people in that situation have been eye opening. My experience in Cambodia inspired me and lead me to have enthusiasm for the work of AguaClara Reach and the potential of AguaClara Technology to close the gap in access to safe water.

What influencing factors have driven your career and life choices?

One thing that really influenced my life was being around international students growing up. My father brought home grad students to dinner very often. It was an atmosphere where friendships were as important as the scholarship that he was involved in as a professor. Students from all over the world expanded my world view and encouraged me to try and understand where people are coming from.

In terms of my career, I wanted work that was worthwhile. Making the world better in even a small way was fulfilling. Doing that with likeminded people was a joy. Solving problems, finding better solutions, and fixing things with people in a team effort was sometimes more fun than fun. It was work but it was definitely fun. That’s been something that has continued to motivate me in engineering and in life. These are some of the reasons I find joy working with ACR.

How do you spend your free time?

I have a great amount of hobbies. I call myself a dabbler. I am not somebody who totally masters one thing very well. I just enjoy a lot of variety. For example, for the past 20 years I have been playing guitar. At first I could only play three chords but with a little bit more time, with the help of YouTube, and with the help of some friends, I am now an intermediate guitarist. I play the guitar a lot. I like acoustic, pop, and various blue genres with American roots.

 I make wine at home and hard cider. My father made wine for many years, and I learned from him. For the past 25 years, I’ve been making my own wine and for the past 10 years, I’ve been doing that more and more. Now I am a part of a home winemakers club. We taste each other’s wines. Every fall I get juice from a winery that sells just the juice and select yeast. Then I ferment the wine and bottle it myself and have it with friends and family.

I enjoy the outdoors so I’ve been doing more lake and river kayaking. I’ve started birding for the past few years.

Is there anything else you would like to see within the ACR community that you would like us to accomplish?

I’m excited and enthusiastic about this next phase of the organization. It's great to be a part of something that is growing and expanding, and I see that continuing.

I see a handful of people doing a lot of the heavy lifting and I’ve been there too. I think at this stage it’s important to take care of ourselves and I think we’re good at doing that. I’d like to see the organization continue to take care of ourselves as we engage with others towards their health. I see the many opportunities that we have: everything from working with new partners to engaging more deeply with partners that we had before. It is important that we value and nurture our existing relationships and partnerships but it is also important to engage more with other nonprofits, experts, partners, and donors.  I would like to see us reach out to some of those organizations and people.

It frustrates me when I see organizations almost compete as if it’s a zero-sum game meaning headlines or donors. ACR, on the other hand, is a collaborative organization and there are others who share that mindset of collaboration. Creating win-win mutually beneficial partnerships will be helpful to expanding the work and the mission of AguaClara Reach.

Do you have any last comments?

It’s been a really great run! Never a dull moment and I wish everybody well. Especially volunteers like yourself; thank you for your enthusiasm and continued commitment to the work or the organization! I’m looking forward to seeing how this next phase develops and unfolds.

I’m glad to still be a part of it.

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• Photographer: John Finn

• Interviewers: Christine Richards, Alison Xu

• Interview Transcription: Serena Takada

• Interviewed: June 2021

OSU Update - Interview with Patrick Sours

A Senior Lecturer at The Ohio State University (OSU), Patrick Sours initiated and currently leads the AguaClara Program at OSU. His focus is within the Global Engineering space where he teaches and leads water related research and projects. A full interview with Patrick is available below.

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Please introduce yourself. What is your name, occupation, background etc.?

My name is Patrick and I am a Senior Lecturer at Ohio State University (OSU). I've been working in the Global Engineering space since 2013. I did my undergrad here at OSU studying Civil Engineering with the Humanitarian Engineering minor and the Global Option distinction. I have worked on projects in Honduras, Guatemala, Tanzania and Central Ohio. I decided to pursue graduate education at OSU in the Food, Agriculture and Bioengineering Department as they have been working to build more opportunities for students in this space. My project was on the construction and optimization of rainwater harvesting with a rural community in Tanzania.

Patrick with the 2017 rainwater harvesting rank. Marwa, Tanzania (2017)

When I finished my M.S. OSU hired me to teach and manage the Sustainable Resilient Communities (SRC) Program, which is one of our community engaged learning programs, so now I teach Global Capstone, CE 5610: Sustainable Infrastructure for Developing Rural Communities and service learning courses in Ghana, Honduras, and Tanzania.

How did you come to focus your work and research on water specifically?

I studied civil engineering in undergrad, which is very broad, and then I got more and more interested in water. Driven from my work on the Maji Marwa Project, a project in Tanzania focused on delivering a reliable source of clean drinking water to a rural Maasai community. We're hoping to take water from the Pangani river, pump it up to the high point, pass it through an AguaClara treatment plant, and then gravity distribute it back out to the community. So that project started with a rainwater harvesting project. We were building relationships and capacity with our NGO and university partner.

Community members assisting in the gathering of stone for a rainwater harvesting system. Marwa, Tanzania (2019)

Over three years, the community implemented three rainwater harvesting tanks totaling about 100,000 liters of water storage capacity, providing around 300,000 liters a year to two schools and a community health center. This work is what led me to a focus on water.

My interest in water was spurred by seeing how it is so intertwined with all other aspects of community development. With water being such an integral part of daily life and seeing the difficulties caused by lack of access to water is what motivated me to focus on this area. 

How did you first hear about AguaClara Reach?

While working on the Maji Marwa project, we were looking at different treatment plans to build with our partner community in 2017, and somebody stumbled across the AguaClara design. I remember we were in a meeting and someone mentioned Monroe [Weber-Shirk], and then the Professor that I work with here, Dr. Michael Hagenberger, a Cornell graduate connected with Monroe.

Of course, Monroe was excited to share his insights with us via Zoom. The following year we had a student that was really interested in the AguaClara treatment system and went to Cornell for the summer to work in the lab.

Then about two years ago we really upped our engagement. With a lot of that coming through AguaClara Reach, and this is when we decided to bring the physical research to OSU to be one of the first projects in our Global Engineering Lab. So I'd say the last year has really been the biggest growth, especially working with Matt [Cimini] and the folks on the RIDE committee has really been instrumental in moving us forward. 

What inspired you to decide to set up an AguaClara program at Ohio State University (OSU)?

Really what inspired me to work on setting up this AguaClara Program at OSU was when I was down in Honduras visiting Zamorano University for a different project. Zamorano actually has an AguaClara treatment plant as their drinking water source, and this was before I had even really had that much interaction with anyone in AguaClara. I was able to tour the plant and I remember thinking that there was nothing there that we wouldn't be able to source in our community in rural Tanzania. I saw how seamlessly everything worked together. So that was really kind of the inspiration moment where I was able to see it in person and then I was all in from there.

Do you have any personal stories you’d like to share about why providing people with access to safe water is important to you?

I can think of one story that is part of my motivation the first year we were working on the rain water harvesting project in Tanzania. We were at the construction site and they had all the gutters up and it started to rain. And there was an elderly Maasai man who was watching the rain come through the gutters and he went over and filled up his water bottle and he was so excited. For me, just seeing the excitement on his face and the excitement from the nurses at the medical clinic, the realization that they were going to have water at the medical clinic and were not going to have to source water from the river anymore.

Community members and an OSU representative place the concrete roof slab on the rainwater harvesting storage tank. Marwa, Tanzania (2018)

That moment really sticks with me because it's something just seeing how excited they were for those tanks to be completed. There's still a lot of work to be done with the community and I'm hoping as COVID starts to trend downward we're able to get back and rehash all of those relationships and partnerships and keep moving forward.

Could you please give us an update on the AguaClara Program at OSU this semester?

Essentially, what we've been working on this past year - we have two aspects of the work that AguaClara does being integrated into our Sustainable Resilient Communities Program. One is the global capstone, one of the new projects that we plan to offer to the students is a project that will incorporate some of the AguaClara Reach design technology. Matt and Zoe [Maisel] have been helping to scope that project.

The other thing that's really gotten going this past year is our research initiative with graduate and undergraduate students. We have about half a dozen students that have been really excited about an opportunity to build out one of the StaRS filtration lab setups. So we have three students that have been working with me this summer to get that all set up, get all the parts procured, and figure out what needs to go together and everything. So that's kind of where we're at right now. The plan for the fall is to hopefully finish the construction by the end of the summer and then get into the actual testing and theoretical research in the fall.

Students in the Global Engineering Lab working on the AguaClara StaRS filtration system. OSU (2021)

What is one challenge you have overcome or are in the process of overcoming in your work with ACR?

The hardest part is that there's a lot of institutional knowledge at Cornell. Trying to get all of the knowledge about the systems transferred here and to the students, has been a lot. I know it has been a lot of work for the folks at AguaClara Reach, the RIDE Committee, Matt and Zoe, and all of them that have been helping us get up to speed on all of that.

Most of the knowledge transfer is virtual meetings and having conversations through Slack. And then the different reports that have been produced as part of the ACC Program over the years, reading through those and asking questions.

The amount of materials and supplies that we have to procure to get everything set up has been a heavy lift. It has been slow but it's been a steady build with the aim to start recruiting a few more students and then really build out the AguaClara OSU program over the next few years.

What are some influencing factors that have driven your career and outside-of-work choices?

I traveled a lot with my family growing up, and then when I came to OSU I took advantage of all the travel opportunities that they have here with study abroad and service learning. It started as  going somewhere new and interacting with new cultures and then, as I did those things I wanted to integrate my engineering skill set into working on projects that I felt really mattered and was making a difference in people's lives. That's one of the influencing factors that drove me to stay in this academic route and then working with the communities and working with different people.

And then also as I stay in this academic world, working with the students has become important to me because I see how impactful a program like the AguaClara program or the SRC program that we have here is, and how that can really allow students to feel a sense of belonging. I had a student this past semester who was graduating and he said, “I never really felt like I belonged at OSU until I joined this program”. To me, that was just so exciting that a student who was coming to the end of their academic career who hadn’t really felt that sense of community was able to find a group of peers to interact with and make those connections.

Any final thoughts or advice you would like to share with other schools that are also interested in starting AguaClara programs?

I love the idea of growing and expanding the AguaClara mission and the research projects. It has been a lot of work but finding a few dedicated students or faculty members that are really interested in it has made all the difference. I truly believe in the AguaClara technology and mission and feel that it really can make a difference in people's lives. 

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• Photographer: Patrick Sours

• Interviewer: Alison Xu

• Transcriptions and Translations: Alison Xu

• Interviewed: June 2021

• Author: Alison Xu

Humans of AguaClara: Armando Mejía

Armando Mejía is the head of the water board in Morocelí, Honduras. With the position being voluntary and unpaid, he is motivated by a sense of community rather than money.

The original interview with Armando, which was conducted by AguaClara Cornell students in January 2020, is posted below. The English translation follows.

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Español:

¿Cómo se llama? 

Mi nombre es Armando Mejía.

¿Cuántos años ha trabajado como presidente en la junta de agua?

Bueno, ahora el ocho de enero estamos ocho… siete meses de estar al frente de la junta de agua en Morocelí.

¿De donde es originalmente? 

De originario de Tegucigalpa y residente siempre quedamos en Morocelí. 

¿Tuvo una experiencias relacionadas a la calidad de agua o la contaminación durante la juventud?

Sí, toda mi carrera profesional, soy ingeniero agrícola, y he trabajado fuertemente en el área de riesgos y una porción un poco en el tema de agua potable en algunas comunidades de la zona occidental del país. 

¿Tuvo una planta para mejorar la calidad del agua en su juventud o no?

No, no, en ese sentido no… no plantas completas como ésta que nos implemente, y los que están…con pequeño floculador. Nada más.

¿Tenía turbidez?

Sí, sí, así, a análisis de turbidez, pero no era el tanto el tratamiento como el que se hace aquí, porque esta experiencia, para a mi en [y?] el personal, ha sido nueva. Esta planta de tratamiento que tenemos en Morocelí. 

¿Por qué y cómo empezó trabajar bajó en la junta del agua? 

Participando en las asambleas, fui tener alguna apertura apoyando las juntas anteriores, y luego algún grupo se le ocurrió proponerme como presidente de la asamblea. Última que detuvimos a mitad de 2009, salió electo como presidente.

¿Por qué escogió este trabajo?

No pues, sí, es un voluntariado. Nosotros en.. no es un trabajo propiamente sino que es un voluntariado al que dedicamos tiempo como los demás miembros de la junta directiva. Y tenemos un equipo de trabajo de siete personas, pero nosotros directivos, es un voluntariado de días, de la noche, o sábado y domingo, y en cualquier otro horario, igual voluntariado. Pero sigues con el propósito de servir al pueblo de una trinchera necesaria y no tiene que ver nada con la política sino que simplemente el deseo de servir a la comunidad.

¿Fue elegido por la comunidad? 

Sí, fui electo en la asamblea de usuarios del sistema de agua potable y allí no se eligieron a siete personas como miembro de la junta directiva.

O, hay siete personas en la junta de agua, y ¿todas las personas son voluntarios o sólo usted?

Todos los siete, directivos y los voluntarios, y además tenemos un grupo de apoyo que también activan de manera voluntaria. Sólo siete personas, bueno ocho con un vigilante que es rotatorio cada quince días y no repite, y tratamos de apoyar a personas de la tercera edad que ya no tienen tantas puertas abiertas donde conseguir un trabajo. Con el vigilante son ocho las personas que trabajan en la junta.

¿Los operadores son pagados? 

Sí, los operadores son pagados. Son tres y trabajan en turnos de doce horas. Continuas de siete de la mañana a siete de la noche y sin son pagados.

¿Dónde trabaja usted para el dinero? 

Bueno anteriormente, mi carrera profesional, trabajé en proyectos de USAID, el proyecto de FAO – que es una agencia de la Naciones Unidas – en proyectos del Banco Mundial, y casi todos ellos educados [?] por la Secretaría de Agricultura y Ganadería de Honduras. 

¿Cuáles son sus responsabilidades en la junta del agua?

Bueno… mi responsabilidad es la coordinación general de todo el equipo de trabajo y de la junta directiva, administrar los recursos -- tanto agua, dinero -- y crear un plan de trabajo, y echar mandar para cada año. 

¿Cómo es su horario cada día?

No, no hay horario. Simplemente programamos una reunión ordinaria para el primer viernes de cada mes y después es vía teléfono, vía WhatsApp. Bueno, nos reunimos para resolver esta problemática, hay que pasar a la oficina a firmar documentos que están pendientes, y… bueno, no hay horario, somos prácticamente 24/7. 

¿Cuál es el futuro de esta planta, en su opinión?

Bueno, en mi opinión es que debemos, eh, estamos gestionando la ampliación de la capacidad de almacenamiento para mejorar la distribución a algunas zonas nuevas. Y el otro proyecto que tenemos es el envasado del agua; es agua de primera calidad y queremos hacer más rentable la planta. 

¿Qué piensa de la tecnología de tratamiento de agua en Honduras? 

Falta mucho por hacer. Son pocas las plantas de tratamiento que tenemos en Honduras. En mucha de los casos, es un sistema de conducción almacenamiento de agua y una posterior clarificación. Pero sí, está mucho, hay mucho por hacer todavía. Hay mucho por hacer. 

¿Tiene fe o esperanza en el mejoramiento del tratamiento de agua en Honduras?

Sí, claro que sí, porque se están dando ejemplos como esta planta y otras comunidades. Están queriendo poner en práctica, están adquiriendo sus propios proyectos y consiguiendo donantes o instituciones que colaboran con algún porcentaje para poner en marcha sus propias plantas de tratamiento, y sí, vamos a lograr. 

¿Cuáles son los cambios que ha notado como resultado del trabajo de la junta de agua aquí? 

Bueno, hemos logrado que hay un mejor manejo del recurso agua, porque ha habido demasiado derroche, porque hay bastante agua. Y hemos tenido algunos controles. Otros controles que hemos tenido es en el manejo de los recursos financieros. Ya las compras y las que se hacen es a través de requisiciones. También llevamos a licitación; varios de los servicios que estamos ejecutando las compras, hacemos licitaciones o cotizaciones. Y además de eso, tenemos también como responsabilidad el manejo de los desechos sólidos del municipio. 

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English:

What is your name?

My name is Armando Mejía.

How many years have you worked as president of the water board?

Well, now on January 8th, I am seven months in of being at the head of the water board in Morocelí.

Where are you originally from?

Originally from Tegucigalpa.

Did you have any experiences related to water quality or pollution during youth?

Yes, throughout my career. I'm an agricultural engineer and I have worked hard in the irrigation area and a little on the issue of drinking water in some communities in the western part of the country.

Did you have a plant to improve water quality in your youth?

Not in that sense. No complete plants like this one were implemented, and those that were there were small. Nothing else.

Was there turbidity?

Yes, well, to turbidity analysis, but it was not both the treatment and the one done here, because this experience, for me and the staff, has been new. This treatment plant we have in Morocelí.

Why and how did work begin to fall into the water board?

By participating in the assemblies, I had some support from the previous board, and then some group came up to propose me as president of the assembly. Last time we stopped in the middle of 2009, he was elected as president.

Why did you choose this work?

This is voluntary work. It is not a job but voluntary work that we spend time doing, like the other members of the Board of Directors. And we have a team of seven people, but we are the managers, are the volunteers at night, or Saturday and Sunday, and on any other schedule, equal volunteering. But you continue with the purpose of serving the people. It is necessary and has nothing to do with politics, but rather simply the desire to serve the community.

Were you chosen by the community?

Yes, I was elected to the drinking water system user assembly and there seven people were elected to the board.

There are seven people on the water board, and are all people volunteering or just you?

All seven, managers and volunteers, and we also have a support group that also volunteers. Only seven people, well eight with a watchman who is rotating every fifteen days and does not repeat, and we try to support seniors who no longer have so many doors open to get a job. With the watchman there are eight people who work on the board.

Are operators paid?

Yes, operators are paid. There are three and they work in twelve-hour shifts, continuously from seven in the morning to seven in the evening.

Where do you work for money?

Well before my career, I worked on USAID projects, the FAO project – which is a UN agency – on World Bank projects. For the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Honduras.

What are your responsibilities on the water board?

Well, my responsibility is the overall coordination of the entire team and the Board of Directors; managing the resources -- both water and money -- and creating a work plan to use for each year.

What is the schedule every day?

No, no schedule. We simply schedule an ordinary meeting for the first Friday of each month and then it's via phone, via WhatsApp. Well, we meet to solve certain problems like we have to go to the office to sign documents that are pending, and… well, there is no schedule, we are practically 24/7.

What is the future of this plant, in your opinion?

Well, we are managing the expansion of storage capacity to improve distribution to some new areas. And the other project we have is water packaging; it is top quality water and we want to make the plant more profitable.

What do you think of water treatment technology in Honduras?

There is a lot to do. There are few treatment plants we have in Honduras. In many cases, it is a water storage conduction system and further clarification. But yes, there's a lot, there's a lot to do yet. There is a lot to do.

Do you have faith or hope in improving water treatment in Honduras?

Yes, of course, because examples such as this plant and other communities are being given. They are wanting to implement; they are acquiring their own projects and getting donors or institutions that collaborate with some percentage to start up their own treatment plants, and yes, we are going to improve.

What are the changes you noticed as a result of the water board's work here?

Well, we have achieved better management of the water resource, because there was too much waste before but now there is enough water. And we have had some controls. Other controls we have had are in the management of financial resources. Already the purchases are done through requisitions. We also bid several of the services that we are executing. And in addition to that, we also have a responsibility for management of municipal solid waste.

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• Photographer: Nicole Wang

• Interviewer: Irena Gao, Hannah Si

• Transcriptions and Translations: Irena Gao, Hannah Si

• Interviewed: January 2020

• Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

• Author: Melissa Louie

Humans of AguaClara: Erika Tenorio

Erika Tenorio is a professor in the Department of Environment and Development at Zamorano University in Honduras. Her experience includes reforestation and watershed management projects to protect the quality of water resources. Much of her past and current research focuses on the intersection of poverty and environmental degradation. Her students have also engaged in research, both independent and jointly with AguaClara Cornell, at the Zamorano water treatment plant.

Pond at Zamorano University.

Plant at Zamorano University where some students conduct water treatment research.

The interview was conducted in English by Cornell students in January 2020. The original transcript below is followed by a Spanish translation.

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English:

Where do you work right now?

I am the head of the Department of Environment and Development at Pan American Agricultural School [in Zamorano University].

How did you learn English?

When I was seventeen years old I was involved in an exchange program in the U.S. so I decided to go to the U.S. to learn how to speak English.

How did you become involved with the Department of Environment and Development?

Here at Zamorano, I had the opportunity to do an internship right after I graduated from college. I studied environmental engineering and after that I got involved in a series of projects for the university. After a while I decided to accept an offer to be part of the Department of Environment and Development and now I’m a teacher. I'm part of the faculty and also currently the head of the department.

What were the internship and your projects like?

Back when I started, I was in a project for watershed management and the communities around it. So the first project I ever worked on was about environmental education for communities and also working with water boards for improving the water quality in the communities. There were projects about reforestation and management of waste and residuals and so I started to like that area and that field work. And that was very important for me to later decide to continue my studies in that area.

So you’re mostly focused on deforestation?

No, it's all environmental management but mostly watershed management so it's everything in the land or associated to the land that would have an impact on water quality and quantity.

How were your interactions with the communities?

I think I learned more from them than I could teach at that time because I had just graduated from college and everything was very new to me so I learned mostly from the challenges that they faced. From an academic standpoint, you can come up with a list of solutions but it's not until you learn the culture and the socioeconomic conditions of a community that you understand why they make the decisions that they make. And that helps you also come up with better ideas and how you can propose solutions [that] are actually feasible because the first thing is not just understanding the hydrologic dynamics but also it's important to understand community dynamics and why they make the decisions that they make and what sort of problems you have seen in the community. 

There are lots of problems related to poverty. Poverty is a driver for environmental problems but environmental problems also produce more poverty so when you have communities that don't have enough access to health, education, water…a lot of problems arise from that and the community becomes restrained, and that reduces their development. It's a cycle, really, because poverty will produce more poverty if you don't tackle the main causes of those problems.

Do you see any possible solutions to the cycle of poverty?

The main solution I believe is education. If our community knows that there are alternatives and there are other ways of doing things and if they understand the impacts of these negative things on their health and their lives, they will become empowered and they will take action and find solutions. So to me, education is the first and the main solution to tackle environmental problems.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities in your department?

Day to day, well, we have a very good group of faculty and staff in the program. We receive students from many different countries in Latin America so I coordinate all the classes and projects. 

What kinds of projects do students work on?

Projects with nearby communities and with other partners. Also some social responsibilities and activities. We manage the water treatment plant as well. So many different things: research-related academics, personnel management, etc.

How do you feel about the future of water treatment research in Zamorano?

I think that we have learned a lot in the recent years. There's still many more things that we can continue studying. There are many issues, not only for the work on [the Zamorano water treatment plant], but also for the water quality in the communities nearby. There's opportunity for creativity and new research ideas and solutions, so we are looking forward to the future and what new students can bring. Opportunities for exchange can also bring in ideas [for us to] improve what we're doing.

What are some recent research accomplishments that your university has made in water treatment recently?

We're hoping to have more research this year with one of the students planning to do an internship at Cornell University, working on improving some of the processes for cleaning [filters]. We've also done research with the professor Ruth Richardson at Cornell University to identify the presence of pathogens in the water. We've been collaborating on [a study of the] sample processing to figure out whether the plants are efficient in removing specific pathogens in the water.

I think it's really fascinating what you guys do and when I look at it, it is exactly the kind of engineering that is [used] to not just make money or be profitable but [to address] a real issue that affects thousands of people all over the world. [The research] requires a lot of knowledge and a lot of [equipment], which [we don’t always] have in a developing country, but it's high quality research that's done in a developed country to help developing countries.

What is the hardest part about your job?

I know we have issues with pH and metals that we're still working on, the mechanics of [controlling] the pH and chlorine [residual within] the distribution system, but that's really easy in terms of the overall everyday activities that we do. The hardest part of my job is to understand different personalities. We work every day with different kinds of stakeholders, so [the hardest part is] understanding personalities, what motivates staff, how to identify issues, and how to be able to solve them and provide solutions.

Do you have a message you would like to say for people listening to this interview?

If you are going to university, I think you should be really proud of the impact that you can have or the fact that research that's done at Cornell can have impact in countries like Honduras and also I guess motivate more people [by showing] it's possible to do something that they're passionate about and to never stop dreaming about an idea because that idea could potentially impact many people. And through hard work and trying to find other opportunities great things can come out of it and so you have a great opportunity to be in a top university that many people around the world would kill to have. That opportunity and that knowledge that you're gaining will be valuable when you put that into the service of others.

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Español:

¿Dónde trabaja usted ahora?

Yo soy la jefa del Departamento de Ambiente y Desarrollo de la Escuela de Agricultura Panamericana en la Universidad de Zamorano.

¿Cómo aprendió Inglés?

Cuando tenía diecisiete años, era parte de un programa de intercambio en los Estado Unidos, y decidió a ir allá para aprender inglés.

¿Cómo se uniste usted al Departamento de Ambiente y Desarrollo?

Aquí en Zamorano, tuve la oportunidad de hacer un internado justo después de graduada de la universidad.  Estudió ingeniero ambiental y después trabajó en una serie de proyectos por la universidad.  Después de un tiempo, acepté una oferta para ser parte del Departamento de Ambiente y Desarrollo y ahora soy profesora, una parte del facultad y la jefa del departamento.

¿Cómo fueron el internado y sus proyectos?

Cuando empezó, estuve en un proyecto por manejo de cuencas y las comunidades cerca de las.  Entonces, el primer proyecto en el que trabajé fue sobre educación de medio ambiente por las comunidades y también trabajando con las juntas del agua para mejorar la calidad de agua en las comunidades.  Fueron proyectos sobre repoblación forestal y manejo de residuos.  Empezó a gustar este tipo de trabajo, y eso era muy importante para mí después para continuar mis estudios en este tipo de trabajo.

¿Entonces usted está enfocada en la deforestación principalmente?  

No, estoy enfocada en todo manejo del ambiente pero principalmente manejo de cuencas.  Entonces, es todo en la tierra o asociada con la tierra que tendría un impacto en la calidad y cantidad de agua.

¿Cómo fueron sus interacciones con las comunidades?

Pienso que aprendía más de ellas que puede enseñar a este tiempo porque me acababa de graduar de la universidad y todo era muy nuevo para mí, así que aprendí principalmente de los retos que ellas tienen.  Desde un punto de vista académico, usted puede hacer una lista de soluciones pero no es hasta que aprende la cultura y condiciones socioeconómicas de la comunidad que entienda por que ellas tomen las decisiones que tomen.  Y eso me ayudó también a tener mejor ideas y a hacer soluciones que son factibles.  Eso es porque el primer punto no es entender los problemas hidrológicos, también es importante las dinámicas de las comunidades y porque ellos toman las decisiones que tomen y cuál tipos de problemas usted ha visto en la comunidad. 

Hay muchos problemas relacionados con la pobreza.  La pobreza es una fuente de problemas ambientales pero problemas ambientales también produce más pobreza, entonces cuando tiene comunidades que no tienen suficiente acceso a la salud, educación, agua… muchos problemas surgen de eso y la comunidad se vuelve restringida, y eso reduce su desarrollo.  Es un ciclo, porque la pobreza producirá más pobreza si no aborda las causas principales de esos problemas.

¿Ve algunas soluciones posibles al ciclo de pobreza?

La solución principal creo es educación.  Si nuestra comunidad sabe que hay alternativas y hay otros vías de hacer cosas y si comprenden los impactos de esas cosas negativas en su salud y sus vidas, ellos se empoderán  y tomarán acción y descubrirán soluciones.  Pues a mi, la educación es la primera y principal solución a resolver problemas ambientales.

¿Cuáles son sus responsabilidades al día en su departamento?

Día al día pues tenemos un grupo muy bueno de facultades y personal en el programa.  Recibimos estudiantes de muchos países diferentes en América Latina, entonces coordino todos las clases y proyectos.  

¿Qué tipos de proyectos hacen los estudiantes?

Proyectos con comunidades cercanas y otros socios.  También algunas responsabilidades y actividades sociales.  Administramos el planto del agua también.  Pues muchas cosas diferentes: académicos en relación de investigación, administración de personas, etc.

¿Cómo se siente usted sobre el futuro del investigación del tratamiento del agua en Zamorano?

Pienso que hemos aprendido mucho en los años recientes.  Todavía hay muchas cosas podemos continuar a estudiar.  Hay muchos problemas, no solamente del trabajo de la planta de agua de Zamorano, sino también por la calidad del agua en las comunidades cercanas.  Hay la oportunidad por creatividad y nuevas ideas y soluciones de investigación, entonces estamos atentos al futuro y que los nuevos estudiantes pueden traer.  Oportunidades por intercambio pueden crear ideas [para] mejorar lo que estamos haciendo.

¿Cuáles son algunos logros de investigación recientes que su universidad ha hecho en tratamiento del agua recientemente?

Estamos esperando a tener más investigación este año con una de las estudiantes planeando a hacer un internado a Cornell University, trabajando en mejorar algunas de los procesos por limpiando [filtros].  También hemos investigado con la profesora Ruth Richardson en Cornell University a identificar la presencia de patógenos en el agua.  Hemos estado colaborando en [una estudia del] procesamiento de muestras para determinar si las plantas son eficientes quitando patógenos específicos en el agua.      

Pienso que es muy fascinante lo que ustedes hacen y cuando me lo veo, es exactamente el tipo de ingeniería que está usado para no solamente ganar dinero o ser rentable, pero abordar el problema está afectando a miles de personas en todo el mundo.  [La investigación] requiere mucho conocimiento y mucho equipo, que [no siempre podemos] tener en un país en desarrollo, pero es alta calidad que se está haciendo en un país desarrollado para ayudar países en desarrollo.

¿Cuál es la parte más difícil de su trabajo?

Sé que tenemos problemas con pH y rieles que estamos trabajando en, las mecánicas del controladora el pH y cloro del sistema de distribución pero eso esta muy facil entre los actividades que hacemos cada día.  La parte más difícil de mi trabajo es para comprender alusiones personales diferentes.  Trabajamos cada día con diferentes tipos de partes interesadas, entonces [la parte más difícil es] entendiendo alusiones personales, lo que motiva al personal, como se identifica problemas, y cómo poder resolver los y proveer soluciones.

Tiene un mensaje que quiere decir al personas escuchando a este entrevista?

Si va a universidad, pienso que debería estar orgulloso del impacto que puede tener.  También que investigación que está hecho en Cornell puede tener un impacto en países como Honduras y también motivar a la persona por mostrar que es posible hacer algo que está apasionada sobre y a nunca detener sonando sobre una idea porque esta idea podría impactar muchas personas.  Y con mucho trabajo y tratando de descubrir otras oportunidades grandes cosas pueden salir de eso y pues tiene una gran oportunidad a estar en un mejor universidad que muchas personas quieren.  Esta oportunidad y este conocimiento que está ganando será muy valioso cuando lo use en servicio de otros. 

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• Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot), Cindy Jin (plant and pond photos)

• Interviewer: Melissa Louie and Irena Gao

• Transcriptions and Translations: Melissa Louie, Ian Cullings, and Irena Gao

• Interviewed: January 2020

• Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo

• Author: Melissa Louie

Humans of AguaClara: Oscar Trujillo

The 16 LPS water treatment plant in Morocelí is built to serve a population of around 5,300.

As the Chief of Operations of the AguaClara water treatment plant in Morocelí, Oscar Trujillo oversees the day-to-day activities of distributing clean water to the community. He also works on educational programs within the community to encourage people to save water and protect the forests and surrounding environment.

A full interview with Oscar, taken by AguaClara Cornell students in January 2020, is available below in Spanish. It is followed by an English translation.

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Español:

¿Cómo se llama?

Oscar Trujillo.

¿Y cuál es su papel en la planta?

Soy el jefe de operación del sistema de agua potable de Morocelí.

¿Cuántos años [ha trabajado en la junta de agua]?

Tengo seis años para [trabajar por] la junta de agua.

¿Qué hace en este papel?

Coordino las actividades de la operación de la planta, coordino la operación de la linea de conduccion, y coordino las operaciones de la oficina administrador en el alcal de viete cuando los abonados van a pagar el dinero del agua.

¿Cuáles desafíos hay en esta planta?

Los desafíos que tenemos en la planta es que la población ya va creciendo. [La planta] fue diseñada para dieciséis litros por segundo, actualmente estamos consumiendo trece litros por segundo y el pueblo va a creciendo. En cinco o seis años, tenemos que pensar en otra planta más grande que esta. Es un desafío que tenemos, y otro desafío es la implementaciòn de la instalaciòn de micromedidores. Es el desafío ahorrar agua. Como socializar como un abonado que consume menos agua, que no desperdicie el agua, que no bote el agua.

¿En Moroceli, tiene un programa para educar a la comunidad sobre el uso del agua?

Sí, como en la [comunidad] mundial, nos apoya para socializar con barrios para que sepan el uso del agua, para que aprovechen el agua en [esta] manera. Este es uno de los proyectos que estamos sosteniendo. Educando a los niños, a los jóvenes, y a los adultos, escuelas, colegios, e iglesias, para que cuidemos el agua.

¿Cuáles cambios hay a causa de la planta?

Primero, han bajado los niveles de las enfermedades gastrointestinales. Dos, los problemas de dengue, no tenemos, porque ahora es más fácil saber si tenemos sucia la pila no tenemos sucia. Y otra logra es que la calidad de vida ha mejorado. La salud ha mejorado, la calidad de vida con este agua. Nos bañamos con agua limpia, comemos los alimentos con agua limpia, los cocinamos, y tomamos agua limpia. 

¿Usted tenía experiencias sobre la calidad del agua en su juventud?

Sí, claro. A veces en el invierno no abríamos las llaves porque lo que entraba era el lodo, era chocolate. [Necesitaban] cerrar las llaves y no podemos bañar en las quebradas. [No podemos usar] las quebradas para tomar. Imágenes. Ahora abrimos las llaves y tenemos agua de calidad. 

¿Por qué quiere trabajar con este tema del agua?

Porque el agua es la vida. Y es uno de los proyectos que no es tanto hablar de dinero ni de paga, sino por la calidad de vida que tenemos para tener agua de calidad, servir a las personas. A servir a la comunidad con el agua es buenísimo, es bueno. 

¿De qué está más orgulloso?

¡De la planta, de tener la planta! Sí, estamos orgullosos de tener una planta como esta.

¿Cuál es su inspiración para continuar este trabajo?

Mi motivación ya es algo natural para los jóvenes, por los niños que vienen, verdad. Esto es mi motiva, no es sueldo. Como le digo, mi motiva a que tengamos un buen calidad pa’ que las personas que nos visitan [pueden ver] nuestras familias tengamos personas saludables. Esa es mi motivación, que nuestras familias seamos sanas. Seamos familias fuertes, saludables, verdad. Esa es mi motivación, es mi inspiración para continuar.

¿Tiene unos cuentos específicamente sobre eso?

Claro que sí. En invierno no consumimos el agua, no usamos agua. No, muy fea, muy sucia, no lo usábamos. Ahora, vienen de otras comunidades a traer agua en estas casas. Vienen a traer agua en botes, en carros, porque ellos tienen agua sucia. Otros lugares ya no quieren tocar allá que el agua porque es agua sucia, es diferente, entonces de esa manera estamos ayudando mucho. 

¿Qué quiere decir a la gente que [leerá] esta entrevista?

Primero, que cuidemos el agua. El agua es la vida. Y dos, que protejamos los bosques. Que protejamos los bosques, y que hagamos conciencia que el agua no tiene valor. El agua no tiene precio. No tiene precio el agua. 

Por lo tanto, yo invito a todas las personas a que trabajemos para tener agua. Y trabajar por tener agua se indica primero tenemos conciencia de responsabilidad, conciencia con el ambiente, conciencia con los bosques, con nuestras familias, para que les podamos elevar a nuestros hijos y nuestros nietos, a los que vienen atrás de nosotros, que también tengan derecho a tener agua de calidad. 

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English:

What is your name?

Oscar Trujillo.

And what is your role in the plant?

I am the Chief of Operations of the water treatment system in Morocelí.

How many years have you worked on the water board?

I have worked on the water board for 6 years.

What do you do in this role?

I coordinate the activities for operating the plant, the operation of the management line, and the operations of the administrative office when subscribers pay for the water.

What challenges does this plant have?

The challenge we have is that the population is growing. [The plant] was designed to produce sixteen liters of water per second. We are actually consuming thirteen liters per second and the town is growing. In five or six years, we will have to think about a larger plant than the one here now. Another challenge is the implementation of the installation of water meters to save water. It is the challenge of saving water; of creating a customer who consumes less water, who doesn’t waste water, and who doesn’t throw the water away.

In Morocelí, do you have a program to educate the community on water use?

Yes, like in the global community, we have a program that helps us to educate the neighborhoods on water use, and to make use of the water in a certain manner. This is one of the projects that we are supporting. Educating the children, adults, schools, colleges, and churches to take care of the water.

What changes have you seen as a result of the construction of the water treatment plant?

First, the levels of gastrointestinal illnesses have gone down. Secondly, we don’t have the problems of dengue [fever] anymore, because now it is easier to know when we have dirty water. And another achievement is the quality of life has improved. Health and the quality of life has improved with this water. We bathe with clean water, we eat food with clean water, we cook, and we drink clean water.

Did you have experiences regarding the quality of water in your childhood?

Yes. Sometimes in the rainy season we did not open the faucets because what came in was mud. It was like chocolate. We had to close the tap and we could not bathe in the streams. We could not use the streams to drink. Imagine it. Now we open the taps and we have quality water.

Why do you want to work on water issues?

Because water is life. And in these projects, it is not enough to talk of money nor pay, because it is for the quality of life that we have to obtain quality water, to serve the people. To serve the community with water is great.

What are you most proud of?

The plant, the plant, of having the plant! Yes, we are proud of having a plant like this.

What is your inspiration for continuing this work?

My motivation is something natural: for the youths, the children who come after us. This is my motivation, not a salary. As I told you, my motive is for us to have a good quality of life so that people who visit us can see our families and that we have healthy people. This is my motivation, that our families are healthy. That we are strong, healthy families. This is my motivation, it is my inspiration to continue.

Do you have specific stories on this?

Of course. In the winter we did not consume water; we did not use water. It was very ugly, very dirty, so we did not use it. Now, other communities come to Morocelí to bring this water to their homes. They come to bring water in boats, in cars, because they have dirty water. Other places already do not want to touch their own water because it is dirty water. So in this manner we are helping a lot.

What would you like to say to the people who will read this interview?

First, that we must take care of the water. Water is life. And secondly, that we must protect the forests. That we protect the forests, and that we are conscious that water is invaluable. Water does not have a price. 

Therefore, I invite all people to work to have water. And to work to have water indicates first that we have awareness of our responsibility, awareness of the environment, awareness of the forests, of our families, so that we can elevate our children and our grandchildren who will come after us, who also have the right to have quality water.

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• Photographer: Melissa Louie (headshot), Ching Pang (plant photo)

• Interviewer: Melissa Louie

• Transcriptions and Translations: Melissa Louie

• Interviewed: January 2020

• Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo

• Author: Melissa Louie

Humans of AguaClara: Blixy Taetzsch

Blixy Taetzsch is the current AguaClara Reach Board Treasurer and works on various aspects of the organization from accounting and budgeting to planning and policy. A long-time volunteer for many organizations, Blixy supports and inspires ACR not only with her great insights and experience but also her kindness and desire to help others. To celebrate International Women’s Day, ACR volunteers interviewed Blixy about her role in ACR and what motivates her to lead a life of service. Thank you, Blixy, for continuing to #ChooseToChallenge with ACR.

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Could you please introduce yourself?

I'm Blixy Taetzsch, I am an accountant. I'm also a certified public accountant. So, that means I worked in public practice long enough to get my license and also pass the state exam. So, similar, maybe to a professional engineer.

Where did you grow up?

Well, that's interesting, because I actually was born in California, in Burbank and Los Angeles County. But I grew up in New Jersey, primarily in a more urban area, not far outside of New York City. We moved a lot when I was growing up. I don't think I was in one school for longer than three years; that was the longest time I was ever in one public school.

I came to Ithaca to go to college, like so many of us do here. I went to Ithaca College and I never left. I got married and I actually live in a rural area outside of Ithaca on a dairy farm. My husband is a dairy farmer, so a very different life that I've had for the last 35 years than how I grew up.

How did you get involved with AguaClara?

That's sort of an interesting tale. Most of my working career I've been a volunteer for some organization in some capacity. Since I was maybe 22 I've been volunteering. Many of that volunteer time has been on boards as I got further in my career. And so I was on the Sciencenter board as a trustee and I met Mark Hurwitz there, who was an AguaClara board member. He knew my background in accounting and specifically nonprofit accounting. I specialize in nonprofit and government accounting and finance so he asked if I would help and he introduced me to Maysoon (May) Sharif [ACR founder].

I spent some time giving him some advice about starting a not-for-profit corporation because this was when AguaClara was first started and hadn't even gotten its not-for-profit IRS status yet. I got so excited about the mission of the organization that I agreed to join the board and become the Board Treasurer. I spent a lot of time with May in those days trying to learn about and understand the organization. So that's how I got involved; it's like, who knows who and Ithaca is a small area and there's a lot of people. It's sort of the same collection of people who serve on boards and you run into each other in different places.

As the treasurer, what does your day-to-day work look like for AguaClara Reach?

Well, since ACR is pretty much a volunteer run organization, as Board Treasurer, my work actually includes what one might think of as an employee's work too. I do all the accounting and bookkeeping taxes. I deal with employment, procedures, making sure we're good with insurance, and all the things we need to do to be compliant with labor laws and things like that. These things aren’t normally what a Board Treasurer would do but it's what I'm doing for ACR, because they need that and I know how to do these things. I also create financial statements and prepare the organizational tax returns which are the 990 and a state report you have to do for not-for-profits. It really is sort of my contribution, right, because otherwise you'd have to pay someone to do those things. Since I'm a CPA, I have the background and experience to do that.

And then of course as Treasurer I also work with budgeting. That's more of a collaborative process, whereas the accounting bookkeeping is sort of just something I just do. And then, as a part of the Executive Committee of the board, I also work with the board on policy, planning, hiring and all of those things. I just try to be available and help out as much as I can.

Sometimes committees will also invite me to their meetings, like the RIDE (Research, Invent, Design, Engage) Committee for example, because they want to know what I think about maybe a fee structure or how something would work from a financial or contractual perspective.

What I’ve found to be true working with ACR is that I'm often the only person who's not an engineer at meetings although that's changing a little bit more recently. I've learned a lot because everyone has such a different background, experience, and expertise. I've always got lots of questions about what things mean or how things work because you can't really help an organization financially if you don't understand what it is that they're doing and what they need. Part of being a good financial person is asking those questions.

What unique strengths do you think you bring to ACR?

I've worked in higher education for most of my career at the local community college at Tompkins Cortland County Community College (T3C) so I think my experience there in an academic setting is a strength. I know the educational process but also have financial insurance knowledge and all of that other background I think, which really brings just a lot of experience. 

The fact that I've worked with a lot of nonprofit organizations, both as a volunteer and in the time when I was doing public accounting, is also helpful. I just know a lot of different organizations so I can look at them and say what are some best practices that we could learn from and help with outreach. I think my other strengths are just that I see the connectedness between things and how an organization might work and how the different pieces might support one another. And so my experience with organizations and organizational development, I think, is helpful.

Sometimes it helps that I’ve just been doing this a long time. I know there are a few of us on the board who are further in their careers, but there are a lot of people on the board who are earlier in their careers. All of that's great, but sometimes just having some of that experience or knowing where to find things is helpful. I love organizations with a social justice mission so I'm very personally interested in working with those kinds of organizations. 

I'm interested in hearing about your commitment to service and what draws you to these organizations in general.

I think back to my first volunteer job. I worked as a credit counselor at family and children services in Ithaca working with people who were having issues with debt or other challenges financially. I was very young and sometimes it was challenging because people would look at me and try to figure out how in the world I was going to help them because I looked so young, but I did have that expertise and I learned a lot. 

I guess I've just always been drawn to wanting to try to help other people in whatever way I could. It's a little harder when your background is accounting, right, how do you help people? But then I found myself in my public accounting career working with nonprofits, government, small government, education, and I thought, this is how I can help people. I can help organizations that help people. And I was drawn to TC3 because a community college is very much a social justice mission organization; it's access to education for everyone. And just knowing that I could work with students even if I was more of a behind-the-scenes person to make education possible for people who might not otherwise have it was a big, big deal for me. So that's how I ended up being more in service but I feel like it's something that I wanted to do since I was a child. I was always drawn to wanting to figure out how to help people who were suffering.

Do you have any personal stories about why providing people with access to clean water is important to you?

I guess I feel like meeting people's basic needs, meaning food, shelter, health, you know those basic things, are really important to me. I'm not sure that I was first drawn to AguaClara because I had so much passion around water specifically. I know that for a lot of the people involved that's been their whole focus, but for me it was more about improving people's lives. A lot of people don't have those very basic things that we just take for granted, or that I take for granted. ACR really aligned with that for me. So I don't know that I was drawn because it was water but when I found out what was happening I was like, this is awesome.

And I love science. When I first went to school I wasn't planning to be an accountant, I was planning to be an engineer. I was studying physics engineering but I found out quickly that it really wasn't for me and I changed paths a little bit but that doesn't mean that I've lost my love for science. So one of the organizations I still volunteer with is the Sciencecenter. I really feel like understanding how the world works and understanding science especially for women and girls, is really important. So, I've always been involved with organizations that are focused on education and learning.

And so it's not just giving people something they don't have. It's helping people have better lives but enabling them to do that themselves. It's about enabling people, as opposed to just doing something for them, helping them realize their own potential and accountability and helping them get the resources to do that if they don't have it.

What do you think are some influencing factors that have driven your career and outside of work choices?

Where I live, and my choice to stay in Ithaca had a lot to do with falling in love. I don't know how I fell in love with my husband, right. He's a farmer. He isn't going anywhere. I learned a lot about farming and the land and I found that I love to be gardening. I've always loved outdoor things but I love gardening and growing things. I really love the rural living and so in terms of my choices about where I am, it probably had more to do with who I'm with.

But in terms of helping people and picking things, it's really about people. I just like relating to people. I would consider myself introverted which may be surprising to some, but I'm more of a relator so one-on-one or in small groups I usually feel pretty comfortable. I just learn so much just from those interactions with people and I really genuinely believe people are basically wonderful for the most part. I like to see the best in others and I tend to focus on that, which sometimes others think is dangerous but that's just who I am.

Who is one of your role models and why?

My mother is a role model because she is one of the least judgmental people I know. She just takes people as they are, and has pretty strong ethics around that. I learned that growing up so I learned not to be judgmental. In that sense, she's a role model or she has been for me. She's a writer and artist, so does very different things.

Could you talk a bit about who you strive to be through your life philosophies?

I will share a couple of things that I have found really helpful to me. I'll refer to a book called The Four Agreements. It's something that I strive towards because we never get there but, you know, the idea of doing your best, not taking things personally, being impeccable with your words, and not making assumptions. So those are the four agreements. They are very simple things but they're really hard to do. And again, it's really a lot about not only how you relate to others but how you relate to yourself, how you talk to yourself.

So that's really important to me. And then I think some philosophies that you might think of as maybe Buddhist philosophies, but they're probably not uncommon in many ways of thinking or faith based thinking, is just about having that beginner's mind and just sort of trying to love the people around you and not having in mind necessarily about who somebody is, and being open and even when it's uncomfortable, trying to listen and understand where other people are coming from.

They're related, but you know just really trying to love people, even when they're doing or saying things that maybe aren't as lovable and trying to understand and doing the same thing for yourself. Because it's really hard to be open to others or loving to others if you can't, you know, forgive yourself too and understand that you have to be kind to yourself. So none of those things are easy to do. So that's kind of what I strive for.

Is there anything else you’d like to add specifically related to International Women’s Day?

At this juncture, some of the conversations I'm having with some of the women professionals that are colleagues on the board with me, lead me to believe that the workplace hasn't changed dramatically from what I was operating as a professional in my career. Things are challenging sometimes, and it is still difficult for women in particular, I think, and women minorities, even more so, to excel in fields that are professions like engineering, accounting, legal, those that have tended to be dominated by the majority culture. I guess I thought things had changed more since I was first in my career and had some experiences that were maybe a little unsettling. That is why I left public accounting and went to work for community college, which is a much more supportive environment for me. And I'm just slightly disappointed to hear that maybe that hasn't changed as much as I thought.

I would just encourage people to keep on with it and keep your values and don't compromise and if you're not comfortable in the place you are to seek out someplace where it’s better and a good fit. I don't think someone should compromise their personal values just for a job. I have found myself facing those issues from time to time at various points in my career and it's hard. It's really hard sometimes. So I just want to say that from my perspective of having done this for 35 years and having been quite young when I started, younger than normal. I started college when I was 16, so it was not only difficult as a woman but it was difficult because I was young and I also looked really young. I remember working at a school, a public school, and having a child walk up to me and say, “Are you a grown up? Are you a kid?” I was performing an independent audit there as a professional, so yes. I wasn't offended because it was a little boy curious about who I was and what I was doing there but those are all challenging things. 

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Thank you, Blixy! ACR is lucky to work with you.

• Interviewer: Melissa Louie

• Transcriptions: Melissa Louie

• Interviewed: March 2021

• Author: Melissa Louie

Humans of AguaClara: Fletcher Chapin

Fletcher Chapin is the Project Manager for the AguaClara Reach India Program. Last year, Fletcher spent a month in the Patimul village in Odisha, India, providing technical support for the installation of a Hydrodoser, which is a device that disinfects water and reduces waterborne illnesses in the community.

Gram Vikas (GV) and AguaClara Reach (ACR) members in Patimul with the installed Hydrodoser (January 2020). From left to right: Sudanshu (GV Supervisor), Fletcher (ACR), Debashish (GV Engineer), Apriya (GV Technician), and John (GV Driver).

The Hydrodoser technology developed by AguaClara Cornell and AguaClara Reach automatically doses well water with an appropriate amount of chlorine. The chlorine kills pathogens that could otherwise cause life-threatening waterborne diseases.

Part of the hydrodoser system that was installed in Patimul.

Location of Patimul hydrodoser installation.

Read the full interview with Fletcher below, which was conducted by Gram Vikas, an India-based community partner of AguaClara Reach. The original English interview is first, with a Spanish translation following. A translation in Odia will also be posted once complete.

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English:

Please introduce yourself.

I’m Fletcher Chapin and I work as the India Program project manager for AguaClara Reach. AguaClara Reach is a U.S. based NGO which works to train partner organizations such as Gram Vikas on our water treatment technology. Here in Odisha we’re working to implement something called the “Hydrodoser” which is a water chlorination technology that is ideal for scenarios where there’s low turbidity in the water but some pathogens or bacterial contaminants that need to be treated.

About a year and a half ago I graduated from college and my first job after college was working for Microsoft as a software engineer. I didn’t enjoy that work as much and I didn’t find it very fulfilling, so a few months ago I decided to leave Microsoft and I applied to work with AguaClara Reach; AguaClara Reach had this position set up specifically for India so I chose to do this instead of software engineering because it seemed like an exciting challenge.

Can you tell us something about the significance of the Hydrodoser as an innovation?

So the reason the Hydrodoser is really cool is that it’s all electricity-free, so it’s just basically working on gravity. What that means is that if they have a gravity-fed water source, they don’t have to spend money on electricity for the system. What’s difficult in most systems, the challenge that the Hydrodoser is trying to tackle, is adjusting the chlorine dose as the plant flow rate changes. So if there’s a lot of rain and then there’s an increase of water into the plant, the Hydrodoser will adjust the dose automatically to increase it to accommodate for the increased water flow into the plant. And so the operators won’t have to manually adjust the dose themselves.

Why do you think this design solution started?

The goal from AguaClara Reach’s perspective is always to empower the communities and to have them use locally-sourced parts as much as are available. Most conventional water treatment technology uses a lot of metal, a lot of metal parts, and electrical equipment and our goal is to take all of that away so that the villagers can maintain the system themselves. If something breaks it’s all just PVC pipes so they can replace the parts themselves that way we can really try to empower them to have ownership of the water treatment plant.

 What has your experience been like so far?

It’s been a really exciting experience. There have been some challenges and some really good parts. All the people have been really kind and welcoming and the community members are really appreciative of the work and would bring us chai and snacks and stuff during the work, which was very nice of them. One villager climbed up a thirty or forty foot tree to get us coconuts all the time so we could have fresh coconut water. So the villagers were very, very nice. And it’s really good and fulfilling to see your work be appreciated and for the excitement that all the villagers had. Like at the inauguration, they were all singing and dancing and that’s very good to see because even if we implement and build the technology, without the support of the community to maintain and operate it, it doesn’t really matter how well the technology functions. It’s really important to have the support of the community. 

And then I guess, the challenge is that it’s definitely isolating for me. Being from the United States, only speaking English, and having spent a month out in rural Odisha where people don’t usually speak any English, it can be challenging to feel isolated from all of my friends and family at home. And lonely. But the work made it worthwhile I think.

Are you seeing an impact? Now that the Hydrodoser has come to the two villages, did you get to speak with the villagers about it?

So I didn’t get to talk with them very much. I know one thing they said is that they’re still not used to the taste of the chlorinated water because before they had untreated water and now it tastes a bit like chemicals. So they didn’t like that their rice tasted like chlorine. But I think they should get used to it. In terms of long term impacts, though, I don’t think I could tell yet. But they were definitely very happy and proud to have the system installed.

How do partnerships become important in reaching the underserved?  

I think with serving underserved communities it’s such a big challenge that you need help from a lot of different people with expertise in different areas. And so in this example, AguaClara Reach, we understand the technology really well, but like I was saying, you need the community support to operate and maintain the technology. Coming in as foreigners from the United States, it would basically be impossible for us to just develop community support ourselves so we need a partnership with someone like Gram Vikas, who’s a local group that is more in tune with the communities and can go and reach out more directly and get support there. The community’s role in the partnership is very important as well because they’re the ones at the end of the day who do a lot of the work and will pay to operate the plant and maintain it. So you definitely need the work from all three groups together to reach the goal that we want.

How was the experience working in Odisha?

I’ve enjoyed it so far. Like I said, everyone has been very welcoming and the food is very good so I like that. I like Indian food, so that’s a good thing. If that wasn’t true it would have been a lot worse. But it’s a very different experience than working at Microsoft, and working in an office all day which is more comfortable but more monotonous. Working in the field is exhausting but it’s really exciting. I said to a friend back home that I think in one day in the field I would have more excitement and fulfillment in my work than a month at my old job.

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Español:

Por favor, preséntase.

Soy Fletcher Chapin y trabajo como director de proyectos en el programa de India para AguaClara Reach. AguaClara Reach es una ONG basada en los E.E.U.U. que trabaja para entrenar organizaciones asociadas, como Gram Vikas, en la tecnología de tratamiento del agua. Aquí en Odisha trabajamos para implementar algo que se llama el “Hydrodoser,” que es una tecnología para poner cloro en el agua. La tecnología es ideal para escenarios cuando no hay mucha turbidez en el agua pero hay patógenos o contaminantes bacterianos que necesitan ser tratados.

Hace casi un año y medio, me gradué de la universidad y mi primer trabajo después de la universidad fue como ingeniero de software con Microsoft. No disfrutaba ese trabajo mucho porque no me daba satisfacción. Entonces hace algunos meses atrás decidí dejar a Microsoft y aplique a trabajar con AguaClara Reach. Esta posición fue establecida específicamente para India, así que escogí eso en vez de ingeniería de software porque me parecía como un desafío estimulante.

¿Puede contarnos algo de la significancia del “Hydrodoser” como una innovación?

El Hydrodoser es muy chevere porque no necesita electricidad, asi que basicamente funciona en gravedad. Entonces, sí el pueblo tiene un fuente de agua vertida de gravedad, no necesita gastar dinero para electricidad para el sistema. El desafío abordado del Hydrodoser es el ajuste de cloro cuando cambia el caudal de agua en la planta. Entonces, si hay mucha lluvia y un aumento de agua a la planta, el Hydrodoser ajuste la dosis automáticamente para adaptar al aumento de caudal. Así que los operadores no necesitan ajustar la dosis manualmente. 

¿Por qué empezó esta solución [el Hydrodoser]?

La meta de perspectiva de AguaClara Reach es empoderar las comunidades y usar componentes de origen local. La mayoría de tecnología convencional de tratamiento del agua usa mucho metal y muchas partes metales y equipo eléctrico y nuestro meta es quitar esos asi que la gente puede mantener el sistema. Y si rompe un componente, todo es de material PVC, y las personas pueden reemplazarlo con sus mismos. Tratamos empoderarlos a tener la propiedad de la planta.

¿Cómo está la experiencia hasta ahora?

Ha sido una experiencia muy estimulante. Ha habido desafíos y unas partes muy buenas. Toda la gente es amable y afable, y los miembros de la comunidad son muy apreciativos del trabajo. Ellos nos llevaban té y meriendas durante el trabajo, que fue muy simpático de ellos. Una persona escalaba casi treinta o cuarenta pies en un árbol para darnos cocos, y siempre teníamos agua coco fresca. La gente fue muy, muy amable. Es muy bueno y satisfactorio ver que las personas aprecian mi trabajo y estuvieron emocionados.

El desafío es que el trabajo es aislado para mí. Soy de los Estados Unidos y solo hablo ingles, y pasé un mes en Odisha rural, donde las personas usualmente no hablan en inglés. Es desafiante sentirme aislado de todos mis compañeros y familia en casa. Y solitario. Pero el trabajo valía la pena.

Estas viendo un impacto? Ahora el Hydrodoser ha sido implementado en dos pueblos, ¿usted habló de eso con la gente?

No podría hablar con ellos mucho. Una cosa que dijeron fue que todavía no están acostumbrados al gusto de agua clorado, porque antes tenían agua no tratada y ahora el agua prueba un poco de químicos. No les gusta el gusto de cloro en su arroz. Pero pienso que van a acostumbrarse. No puedo ver los impactos duraderos. Pero ellos definitivamente estaban muy felices y orgullosos de instalar el sistema.

¿Cómo se vuelven importantes las asociaciones para alcanzar a los marginadas?

Pienso que servir comunidades marginadas es un gran desafío y necesitamos ayuda de muchas personas diferentes con experiencias en áreas diferentes. En este ejemplo, AguaClara Reach, entendemos la tecnología, pero como dije, necesitamos ayuda de la comunidad para mantener y operar la tecnología. Y vinimos como extranjeros de los Estados Unidos; básicamente sería imposible desarrollar apoya de la comunidad de nosotros mismos, así que sabemos que necesitamos una asociación con una organización como Gram Vikas. Es un grupo local que se puede comunicar con las comunidades directamente y obtener apoyo. El papel de la comunidad también es muy importante porque es la gente que trabaja y paga para operar y mantener la planta. Definitivamente el trabajo de todos los tres grupos es necesario para alcanzar la meta que queremos.

¿Cómo fue la experiencia de trabajar en Odisha?

He disfrutado la experiencia hasta ahora. Como dije, todos han sido muy afables y la comida es muy rica, y me gusta. Me gusta la comida Indio, así que es muy bueno. Si no fuera verdad, la experiencia sería peor. Pero es una experiencia diferente de trabajar en Microsoft. Trabajar en una oficina todo el día es más cómodo, pero es más monótono. Trabajar en el campo es agotador pero emocionante. Dije a un amigo que un día en el campo me da más emoción y satisfacción en mi trabajo que un mes en mi trabajo anterior.

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• Photographer: Fletcher Chapin

• Interviewer: Chandrika Patnaik

• Interview Videographer: Ajaya Kumar Behera

• Transcriptions and Translations: Melissa Louie

• Interviewed: March 2020

• Plant Implementation Partner: Gram Vikas

• Author: Melissa Louie

Humans of AguaClara: Pedro Barahona

Interview with Pedro in January 2019.

As the health director in Las Vegas, Honduras, Pedro Barahona has seen how improvements in  water quality lead to positive changes in public health.

The town of Las Vegas, Honduras.

AguaClara Cornell students interviewed Pedro in January 2019 and learned about the impact of the water treatment plant on community health. The original Spanish transcript of the interview is below, with an English translation following.

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Español:

¿Quién es y cuál es su papel? ¿Cuántos años tiene? ¿Cuáles son sus responsabilidades?

Tengo 55 años y llevo trabajando 32 años en el sistema de salud. Soy el responsable de la parte de salud ambiental.

¿Qué se nota en relación con la diferencia entre la calidad del agua antes y después de la planta de AguaClara?

Desde que empezó a funcionar la planta, nosotros siempre hacíamos monitoreos en cuanto a la calidad de agua de aquí. Es nuestra obligación. Posteriormente de que empezara a funcionar la planta, continuamos haciendo esos monitores, por lo que hemos podido ver la diferencia entre consumir agua no apta para el consumo (porque así era esa agua) y la que consumimos ahora que ya funciona la planta. Los resultados se ven en la cantidad de gente que llega a consulta al centro de salud.

¿Qué entiende la gente sobre el agua?

Ahora pueden consumir el agua directamente de la llave.

¿Qué hacían antes?

Pues, consumir agua embotellada.

¿Y ha tenido casos en los que la gente solía beber agua contaminada?

Sí, es parte de la estadística que nosotros no manejamos.

¿Y puede notar la correlación entre beber agua mala y el tipo de síntomas?

Sí.

¿Y cómo fue la vida antes? ¿Qué cambios ha notado?

Ha habido un cambio en la población, cambios en su estilo de vida, en su organismo. Los resultado que ves, se deben a que la población en general está consumiendo agua más segura.

¿Puede contarme de un momento memorable específico?

Particularmente conozco gente que anteriormente padecía de dolores estomacales, parasitismo intestinal, y venía mucho al centro de salud. Ahora ya no llegan.

¿Cómo y por qué consiguió este trabajo?

Eso fue a través de una capacitación intensa de 3 años y luego una selección. Éramos casi 200 personas y de esas quedamos 50. De ahí, entré en este trabajo.

¿Y fue aquí?

No, no. Éramos personas de diferentes partes del país que fuimos a realizar un examen de admisión. Pasamos ese examen y de ahí conseguimos la capacitación.

¿Cuál es su relación con Las Vegas y por qué se cuídalo?

Vivo aquí porque aquí tengo mi sede de trabajo. Fui asignado a este centro de salud, pero no fue mi propia decisión. Nos distribuyeron así.

¿Podría describir su papel en términos de su trabajo en la comunidad?

Mi trabajo va encaminado hacia actividades relacionadas con la municipalidad. La empresa minera nos apoya a nosotros para desarrollar las actividades que tenemos encomendadas.

¿Cuál podría decir que es tu motivación?

Bueno, pues me gusta trabajar con la gente. Aquí soy bastante popular y la gente me quiere porque me he ganado la confianza de la gente.

¿Cuál es la mayor satisfacción de su trabajo?

Es poder servir a la gente.

¿De que está más orgulloso?

Ver los resultados en la gente que yo he ayudado.

¿Puede describir esos resultados? ¿Algún momento en particular?

Por ejemplo, un señor que vino con una serpiente al centro de salud. Aquí no se manejaba el antídoto necesario. Así que, yo lo traslade en mi vehículo a San Pedro Sula al hospital. 

¿Dónde ves margen de mejora?

En mi trabajo con respecto a la salud ambiental, porque no se cuenta con todas las herramientas necesarias. Por ejemplo, un vehículo, herramientas como por ejemplo los aparatos para realizar los análisis de agua y todo eso;  la incubadora, con la que se toma la muestra para análisis bacteriológicos.

¿Qué lo motiva a despertarse cada mañana?

El hecho de tener que trabajar y tomarme un cafecito.

Si pudiera pedir algunos comentarios del equipo de AguaClara, ¿qué cree que podría mejorarse?

El grupo AguaClara ha hecho una gran labor al ayudar a que esta planta esté funcionando mejor.

Si pudiera enviar un mensaje final para alguien leyendo esto, ¿qué sería?

Siempre tiene que haber esa proyección hacia las necesidades de aquí, de honduras; hacia la aplicación de este tipo de proyectos, porque los resultados se ven y los podemos palpar. Tenemos pruebas de casos en los que la salud de las personas ha mejorado debido al hecho de estar consumiendo agua segura.

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English:

Who you are and what is your role? How old are you? What are your responsibilities?

I am 55 years old and I have been working in the health system for 32 years. I am responsible for the environmental health part.

What do you notice in relation with the difference between the water quality before and after the AguaClara plant?

Since the plant started operating, we have always monitored the water quality here. It is our responsibility. We continued to do this monitoring, so we have been able to see the difference between consuming water not suitable for consumption, and the water we consume nowadays. The results can be seen in the fewer number of people who come to the health center.

What do the people understand about the water quality?

Now they can consume the water directly from the tap.

What did they do before?

Well, they consumed bottled water.

And have you had cases in which people used to drink contaminated water?

Yes, although it is part of the statistics that we do not handle.

And can you notice the correlation between drinking bad water and the kind of symptoms?

Yes.

And how was life before? What changes have you noticed?

There have been changes in the population, changes in their lifestyle, in their bodies. The results you see are due to the fact that the general population is consuming safer water.

Can you tell me about a specific memorable moment?

Particularly I know people who previously suffered from stomach pains, intestinal parasitism, and came to the health center a lot. Now they do not come.

How and why did you get this job?

I got this job through an intense 3-year training and then a selection process. There were almost 200 people from which 50 were chosen. I was among the 50.

And that was here?

No. We were people from different parts of the country who went to take an admission exam. We passed that exam and then we got the training.

So what is your relationship with Las Vegas and why do you care about it ?

I live here because I have my workplace here. I was assigned to this health center, but it was not my own decision. They distributed us like this.

Could you describe your role in terms of your work in the community?

My work is directed towards activities related to the municipality. The mining company supports us to develop the activities that we are entrusted with.

What could you say is your motivation?

Well, I like working with people. Here I am quite popular and people love me because I have gained people's trust.

What is the greatest satisfaction of your work?

It is being able to serve people.

What are you most proud of?

Seeing the outcomes of the people that I have helped.

Can you describe those outcomes? Any particular moments?

For example, a man who was bitten by a snake came to the health center. We did not have the correct antidote so I transported him in my vehicle to San Pedro Sula’s hospital.

Where do you see room for improvement?

I see room for improvement in my work related to environmental health because not all the necessary tools are available. For example, we don’t have a vehicle, tools such as devices for water analysis and all that; the incubator, with which the sample is taken for bacteriological analysis, etc.

What motivates you to get out of bed every morning?

My work and being able to drink a cup of coffee.

If you could ask for some feedback from the AguaClara team, what do you think could be improved?

The AguaClara group has done a great job helping to make this plant work better.

If you could send one final message for anyone reading this, what would be?

There must always be concern towards the needs here of Honduras. We need people who care and want the implementation of these types of projects, because the results are visible and we can feel them. We have so many cases where peoples’ health have improved due to the fact that they are drinking safe water.

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• Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot and plant photos), Melissa Louie (town photos)

• Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Transcriptions and Translations: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Interviewed: January 2019

• Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

• Author: Melissa Louie

Humans of AguaClara: Wilfredo Serrano

Wilfredo Serrano is a civil engineer who supervised the construction of the water treatment plant at Gracias Lempira from 2018 to 2019. A previous engineer with Agua Para el Pueblo, Wilfredo has been involved with AguaClara plants for over a decade, and has worked on a diverse set of water projects throughout Honduras.

Students from AguaClara Cornell met and interviewed Wilfredo in January 2019, when the construction of the 120 liters per second (2.74 million gallons per day) Gracias plant was underway. Read the original Spanish interview below, or the translated English following, to hear about Wilfredo’s role.

Construction progress of the sedimentation tanks.

Construction progress of the filter boxes.

The completed AguaClara treatment plant in Gracias Lempira, Honduras.

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Español

¿Quién es? ¿Cuáles son sus roles?

Soy ingeniero civil. Mi nombre es Wilfredo Serrano y soy el supervisor de la planta. Mi responsabilidad principal es la seguridad de las personas. Me tengo que asegurar de que no haya accidentes, evitarlos por lo menos. En segundo lugar, es la calidad de la obra. Que cada obra que se esté construyendo cumpla con los requisitos de calidad buscados, en el hormigón, en el acero, en los demás materiales... Yo tengo que estar revisando todo eso. Y en tercer lugar, lo relacionado con el ambiente. Tengo que asegurar que no se esté perjudicando el ambiente, tirando basuras etc y que no dejemos el lugar en el que trabajamos sucio. Son tres cosas básicas por las que yo tengo que estar aquí.

Yo me inicie cuando conocí a Monroe. Yo trabajaba con Agua para el Pueblo que es la institución que trabaja en esto. Conocí a Monroe hace muchos años (10 años mas o menos) y desde entonces, comenzamos a trabajar en las primeras plantas. Ya se había construido la primera. Yo la fui a ver. Después de eso, se tomaron algunas ideas y de ahí empezamos a trabajar sucesivamente. Termine mi contrato con Agua para el Pueblo y desde entonces me dedico  a supervisar esta planta.

¿Sigue trabajando para Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)?

No. Yo ahora me dedico a la supervisión de la municipalidad. La municipalidad de Gracias contrató a “Agua para el Pueblo” para que construyera la planta. La municipalidad también me contrató ami para que yo supervisara la planta. El financiamiento de esta planta es gracias a la  cooperación española, que es la que da los fondos a la municipalidad. Hay todo un equipo de gestión.

¿Podría describir cómo se siente en su papel en términos de la relación entre el agua y la comunidad?

Me siento orgulloso con lo que sucede en esta planta. El agua viene de allá, pasa directamente a unos tanques y después a la comunidad. El agua, especialmente en invierno, viene con bastante turbidez. Cuando el agua entra aquí , el agua se trata por lo que el agua que se recibe en las casas es de calidad. Además en la comunidad se van a realizar obras para que no haya fugas y haya una buena utilidad del agua. 

Faltaria la parte relacionada con la socialización del agua de la comunidad. Con socialización me refiero a hacer entender a la gente que ahora tienen una mejor calidad, por lo tanto ese agua tiene que ser única y exclusivamente para el uso doméstico. Ya no se debería poder utilizar el agua para vehículos, para regar la calle, para regar cultivos etc. Va a haber que hacer un trabajo de concienciación.

¿Qué le parece tener agua limpia?

Para mi es importante. Sobre todo en el plano profesional. Uno va creciendo su experiencia. Estar en estas plantas me da más estatus. Además, trabajar y ser parte de este proyecto para mi es importante porque se el beneficio que va a tener la comunidad de Gracias al construir la planta. 

¿Puede hablar un poco de su infancia? ¿Por qué estudió Ingeniería Civil?

Yo nací en un pueblo fronterizo con El Salvador. Después me fuí a San Pedro Zula a estudiar. Comencé a estudiar administración de empresas. Pero yo era muy bueno para las matemáticas, Alguien me dijo que porque estudiaba administración de empresas y no ingeniería civil. Entonces fui a la facultad de ingeniería aver de que se trataba la ingeniería y en ese momento, supe que este era mi campo. Dibujar, hacer planos. Me gusta mucho. Ahí es cuando me cambié de carrera. 

¿Puede contarnos un poco sobre la calidad del agua y cómo cambió a medida que crecía?

Nosotros nos abastecemos de pozos. No había un sistema de tuberías ni de agua potable. Yo de pequeño andaba mucho para traer agua en el hombro para casa. Había un pozo exclusivo de agua para beber y otro para lavar la ropa. Con el tiempo llegó la institución y construyó el primer proyecto de agua. Nosotros decíamos que era agua potable simple y sencillamente porque llegaba en un tubo. No sabíamos qué aunque viniera en un tubo podía ser no potable. Con el tiempo fuimos entendiendo que era necesario potabilizar el agua para tomarla y que sea consumida por la gente.

¿Tiene hijos?

Si, yo tengo 31 años de casado. Tengo 3 hijos, una hembra dos varones y un nieto.

¿Qué se motiva a levantarse de la cama cada mañana?

Trabajar. El trabajo y mi familia. Yo trabajo para mi familia, para poder darles lo que ellos necesitan en sus estudios, alimentación y todo eso.

¿Cuál es su motivación para mejorar?

Cada trabajo que hago, trato de indagar más sobre lo que estoy haciendo. Es como descubrir mas de lo que estoy haciendo. Para tener más experiencia y conocimiento. También investigo mucho gracias a el internet. Todo está ahí. Me intereso más en trabajos que son de diseño de oficina etc. Yo trabajé mucho en la montaña, caminando mucho. Ya no tengo tanta capacidad para ello. Puedo dar mas de mi diseñando, organizando proyectos para que los ingenieros jóvenes sean los que vayan a la montaña.

¿Puede describir cualquier momento del que esté particularmente orgulloso?

Mi trabajo ha sido muy interesante. Por ejemplo, todos los proyectos que yo he hecho han sido de beneficio para mucha gente. Yo he trabajado en el área rural, en el campo, en proyectos de agua, alcantarillado etc. Todo eso ha sido de gran beneficio para mi y para los demás. Puedo añadir además que cada proyecto que he hecho es una gran satisfacción. Siempre estoy pendiente de proyectos que hice hace 20 años. Me interesa saber si funcionan bien, si se cometió un error etc.

¿Qué parte de su trabajo le da más satisfacción?

Creo que la construcción de un proyecto. Su construcción, ejecución y finalización para poderlo entregar. Es el momento más satisfactorio como ingeniero. Hay que tener en cuenta todo el esfuerzo hecho y todas las personas involucradas. El momento más satisfactorio será cuando todo funcione correctamente y tengamos el agua completamente clara. 

¿Qué mensaje final le gustaría enviar a alguien leyendo o escuchando esto?

Estoy sumamente agradecido con Monroe, porque él vino a Honduras establecer este tipo de plantas. Las plantas que han existido anteriormente tenian una tecnologia muy grande, difícil de manejar y eran muy caras. Este tipo de plantas, son plantas que nosotros mismos las podemos construir. Los materiales son muy accesibles. Gracias a Monroe y a los estudiantes de la Universidad de Cornell, que se enfocaron en nuestro país para hacer este tipo de plantas. Aquí se ha tratado de potabilizar el agua de cualquier manera. El esfuerzo es muy grande y creo que pocos van a entender el costo que tiene este estudio. Si la Universidad de Cornell nos cobrara, no podríamos pagarlo. La llegada de vosotros como estudiantes aquí, no podemos pagarla. Todo ese beneficio que obtenemos por parte de ustedes es muy valioso. 

¿Cómo podemos mejorar en nuestro proyecto para ayudarle?

Creo que lo que hacéis es muy grande. Estamos muy satisfechos del trabajo que hacen y no se les puede pedir más. Hacen demasiado hasta con venir hasta aquí. Pero no, yo creo que esta todo bien. Muchas gracias. No puedo pediros más.

¿Cuál es su visión para el futuro de Honduras?

Honduras está pasando por una situación política y económica muy difícil. Desde hace unos años, todo ha cambiado. Esto a aumentado la violencia. Vosotros podéis ver como mucha gente está viajando a EEUU. Yo creo que la mejor manera de ayudar a mi país es cambiar yo mismo y cambiar a mis propios hijos. Creo que esta situación difícil nos va  ayudar a entender que tenemos que sacar fuerzas de las situaciones de debilidad. Que tenemos que pensar más a quien votamos y elegimos para nuestros presidente y diputados. Que sean personas que lleguen al gobierno y piensen en ayudarnos. Tenemos que evitar la corrupción. Tienen que pensar en ir al gobierno  ha ayudar a los demás. Tenemos que formar conciencia. Ya no nos interesa un partido u otro, si no que estamos interesado en una persona dispuesta a ayudarnos.

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English

What is your name? What are your roles?

I'm a civil engineer. My name is Wilfredo Serrano and I am the supervisor of the plant. My main responsibility is the safety of people. I have to make sure that there are no accidents, or avoid them at least. Secondly, my other responsibility is the quality of the construction and labor. Each component being built has to meet the quality requirements, in concrete, steel, other materials, and I have to be reviewing all that. And thirdly, the other one is related to the environment. I have to ensure that the environment is not being damaged and that we do not leave the place where we work dirty. These are the three basic things that I have to be here for.

I started when I first met Monroe. I worked with Agua para el Pueblo which is the institution that works on this. I met Monroe many years ago (10 years or so) and since then, we started working on the first plants. The first one had already been built. I went to see it. After that, some ideas were taken and from there, we started working successively. I finished my contract with Agua para el Pueblo and since then I have been in charge of supervising this plant.

Are you still working for Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)?

No. I now dedicate myself to the supervision for the municipality. The municipality of Gracias hired Agua para el Pueblo to build the plant. The municipality also hired me to supervise the plant. The financing of this plant is thanks to the Spanish cooperation, which is what gives the funds to the municipality. There is a whole management team.

Could you describe how you feel in your role in terms of the relationship between the water and the community?

I feel proud of what happens on this plant. The water comes from there, passes directly to some tanks and then to the community. Water, especially in winter, comes quite turbid. When water enters here, water is treated so that the water received in the houses is water of quality. Also in the community they are going to carry out some work so that there are no leaks and there is a good use of water.

The part related to the socialization of community water would be missing. By socialization I mean making people understand that they now have a better quality water. Therefore, that water has to be exclusively for domestic use. Water should no longer be used for vehicles, to irrigate the street, to irrigate crops, etc. We have to make people aware of this.

How do you feel about having clean water?

For me it is important. Especially on the professional level. You grow your experience. Being in these plants gives me more status. In addition, working and being part of this project for me is important because I know the benefit that the community of Gracias will have when building these plants.

Can you talk a little bit about your childhood? Why did you study Civil Engineering?

I was born in a border town with El Salvador. Then I went to San Pedro Sula to study. I started studying business administration. But I was very good at math. Someone asked me why I was studying business administration and not civil engineering. Then I went to the engineering school to see what engineering was about and at that moment, I knew that this was my field. Draw, make plans. I like it very much. That's when I changed my studies.

Can you tell us a little bit about the water quality and how it changed as you grew up?

We took the water from wells. There wasn’t any pipe system for drinking water. When I was a child, I walked a lot to bring water on my shoulder at home. There was an exclusive well for drinking water, and another one for washing clothes. Over time the institution arrived and built the first water project. We said it was drinking water simply because it came in a tube. We didn't know that even if it came in a tube it could be non-potable. Over time we understood that it was necessary to drink water to drink it and be consumed by people.

Do you have kids?

Yes. I have been married 31 years. I have 3 children, one daughter and two sons. Also I have a grandchild.

What motivates you to get up from bed every morning?

To work. The work and my family. I work for my family, to be able to give them what they need in their studies, food and all that.

What is your motivation to improve?

In every job I do, I try to find out more about what I am doing. It's like discovering more about what I'm doing in order to have more experience and knowledge. I also research a lot thanks to the internet. Everything is there. I am more interested in jobs that are office design. I worked a lot on the mountain, walking so much. I no longer have that capacity for it. I can give more of myself designing and organizing projects so that young engineers are the ones who go to the mountain.

Can you describe a moment that you are particularly proud of?

My work has been very interesting. For example, all the projects that I have done have been of benefit to many people. I have worked in the rural area, in the countryside, in water projects, sewerage. All of that has been of great benefit to me and others. I can also add that each project I have done is a great satisfaction. I am always aware of projects I did 20 years ago. I am interested to know if they work well, if an error was made.

Which part of your job gives you most satisfaction?

I think the construction of a project. Its construction, execution and completion to deliver it is the most satisfying moment as an engineer. We must take into account all the effort made and all the people involved. The most satisfying moment will be when everything works correctly and we have completely clear water.

What final message would you like to send to anyone reading or listening to this?

I am extremely grateful to Monroe, because he came to Honduras to establish these types of plants. The plants that have existed previously had a very large technology, difficult to handle and were very expensive. These types of plants are plants that we can build ourselves. The materials are very accessible. Thanks to Monroe and the students of Cornell University, who focused on our country to make these types of plants. Here we have tried to purify water in any way. The effort is very large and I think few will understand the cost of this study. If Cornell University charged us, we couldn't pay it. The arrival of you as students here, we cannot afford it. All that benefit we get from you is very valuable.

How can we improve in our project to help you?

I think that what you do is very big. We are very satisfied with the work you do and we cannot ask for more. You do too much even coming here. But no, I think everything is fine. Thank you. I can not ask for more.

What is your vision for the future of Honduras?

Honduras is going through a very difficult political and economic situation. For a few years, everything has changed. This has increased violence. You can see how many people are traveling to the US. I believe that the best way to help my country is to change myself and change my own children. I think this difficult situation will help us understand that we have to draw strength from situations of weakness. That we have to think more about who we vote for and elect for our president and deputies. They have to be people who come to the government and think about helping us. We have to avoid corruption. They have to think about going to the government to help the others. We have to form awareness. We are no longer interested in one party or another, but we are interested in a person willing to help us.

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• Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot and plant photos), Nicole Wang (plant photo), Melissa Louie (plant photo)

• Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Transcriptions and Translations: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Interviewed: January 2019

• Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

• Author: Melissa Louie

Humans of AguaClara: Marjorie Mayr

Marjorie Mayr, an alumnus of both Zamorano University and Cornell University, spoke with AguaClara Cornell students in January 2019 about her current position as the president of waterboard “Junta Administradora de Agua y Saneamiento de la Comunidad de Tatumbla” in the municipality of Tatumbla, Francisco Morazan, Honduras. She spoke about her passion for the environment - in fact, before the establishment of the waterboard she actively participated in the Water Division of Tatumbla working towards clean water and sanitary conditions for everyone.

The original English interview with Marjorie is shown below, with the Spanish translation following.

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English

Who are you? What's your background?

My name is Marjorie Mayr and I have been living in this community (Tatumbla) for over 25 years. I studied agriculture at [Zamorano University]. I also studied towards a Master in Professional Studies at Cornell in Rural Development. Even though I have been living here [in Tatumbla], I wasn't involved in local water projects all these years because of my previous jobs.

When I came here 25 years ago, we didn't have the water problems we have today. These problems are happening because of the increasing population and environmental damages. I've seen throughout the years how our water supply has been declining and so about five years ago, I was invited to a meeting. I really didn't know what was going to happen and I ended up becoming  a member of the Water Division. So in a Water Division model the Mayor becomes the president who then chooses two of his council [members]. The other four members of the Water Division are chosen from the community as representatives of civil society. In November 2018, as civil society we decided that the model of the Water Division was not working efficiently because we continued having a Mayor and Council [Members] looking after their own interests and not the communities. We continued to see their political agenda and water was not their main concern. Recently we had general elections in Honduras and a new mayor was chosen. We decided to give him time to understand and get involved in the water issues as the new president of the Water Division. After nine months we concluded we were not going anywhere with the situation. So in November 2018, we reached out to the National Entity that regulates water boards and [said] we want[ed] to become an autonomous water board that could work without political interventions. When the elections for the water board were held, I was elected as the president. One other person and myself had been members of the Water Division and we served as a good transition for the new water board. Being president of a water board requires a lot of time which makes me wonder how sustainable water boards are in doing their job. It is a volunteer position. Obviously there are waterboards that [have] proven that it is possible. Definitely, it should be the local government providing us with clean water and sanitation. It should not be the responsibility of civil society, but I guess that in the developing world, things don't work so well, in terms of what local and national governments should do. That is one of the reasons these models emerge in order to do what needs to be done.

Can you tell me a little bit about your personal story, and how that motivates you to get involved in?

I have been living here for 25 years, and water was not an issue. I moved here with my family and we had sufficient water for what we needed. Then, we started seeing that the water situation was getting worse. Something had to be done and it wasn't happening. 

Could you describe how you noticed this?

One simple reason. Basically in Honduras we have two seasons, the wet and the dry. When it is raining, nobody [has] concerns about water, we have more water than we need. But then during the dry months, there is less water, and it has to be rationed. And every year the rationing was getting more and more severe.

Is that rationing done through policy/government?

It happens in many parts of Honduras and is decided by the entity that manages water services to specific communities or cities. It has to be done because there isn't enough water for everybody. And now, we also have to do it here in Tatumbla. We had to start because water sources are diminishing and there isn't enough water . I remember in 1995, when we moved here, there weren't water problems like now. In a short amount of time we are able to see all these changes. Unfortunately, we have serious environmental issues. The streams which are not extremely abundant, are now more exposed to the sun because of loss of  trees due to the pine bark beetle.  [Additionally] during the dry season it's very common to have forest fires. They shouldn't have to happen every year, but sadly most fires in Honduras are intentional. And after the fires it’s easier to cut the trees for firewood. Honduras is considered one of the three most vulnerable countries of the world  to climate change. Recently, I read this year we are going to be affected by another drought. 

What was your motivation to get into this?

I have always been passionate about the environment. I think it is the most important thing and we have to take care of it. It's the basis for life, it provides us with air, water. I think that is where quality of life begins. This was the perfect moment in my life where I had the time, knowledge and responsibility to do something about it. 

Have you seen any rejection because you are a woman? 

Not really. In fact, the other person who is transitioning from the Water Division into the water board is also another woman.

Is that typical?

I don't know. Maybe it is not so typical but I have never felt any issues for being a woman. In fact, in November when we had the election for the waterboard four women were elected out of a total of seven members.

Could you describe a moment that you would like to share?

We are very proud when we come to this water treatment plant and we see it is functioning well. Because, like I said before, I had a full time job, so I had to do a lot of personal sacrifices in order to achieve something I believed in. This gives me a lot of satisfaction.

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Español

¿Quién es usted? ¿Cuál es su experiencia?

Mi nombre es Marjorie Mayr y he estado viviendo en esta comunidad de Tatumbla por más de 25 años. Estudié agricultura en la universidad que van a visitar mañana, Zamorano. También tengo una maestría en Desarrollo Rural de la Universidad de Cornell. Aunque he vivido todo este tiempo en esta comunidad no estaba involucrada en estos proyectos de agua todos estos años por mis trabajos.

Cuando vine aquí hace 25 años, no teníamos los problemas de hoy. Estos problemas están ocurriendo debido al aumento de la población y el deterioro  ambiental, así que he visto a lo largo de los años como nuestro suministro de agua ha disminuido y así que hace casi 5 años, fui invitada a una reunión. Realmente no sabía lo que iba a pasar y terminé formando parte de la División Municipal de Agua y Saneamiento. En el modelo de División el alcalde es el presidente que luego elige a dos de sus regidores los otros 4 miembros los conforman personas como yo de la sociedad civil. Por eso hemos estado intentando hacer algo por el agua durante los últimos dos años. En noviembre de 2018, como sociedad civil  decidimos que el modelo de División no funcionaba eficazmente porque seguíamos teniendo un alcalde y regidores que velan más por  sus propios intereses. (Seguimos viendo los intereses políticos) y que el agua no es su principal preocupación. Recientemente en Honduras tuvimos elecciones generales  y tenemos un nuevo alcalde y decidimos darle tiempo para que se involucrara e informara sobre la situación del agua. Pero después de nueve meses decidimos que no estábamos avanzando con esta situación. En noviembre de 2018, solicitamos  a la entidad nacional que regula las juntas de agua y les dijimos que queríamos pasar al modelo de junta de agua con autonomía y así poder  administrar sin injerencia política. Otra compañera de la División y yo  fuimos electas y pasamos a ser parte de la Junta de agua, algo muy bueno para poder darle inicio a la nueva junta de agua. Fui electa como presidenta y esto requiere mucho tiempo. Es un puesto totalmente voluntario. A veces me pregunto si las juntas de agua son capaces de hacer todo el trabajo que se requiere, obviamente hay juntas de agua que sí han demostrado que es posible. Definitivamente, debería ser el gobierno local el que nos proporcione el servicio de  agua limpia y saneamiento. No debería ser responsabilidad de la sociedad civil, pero supongo que en países  en desarrollo como Honduras donde las cosas no funcionan tan bien como debían tanto a nivel de los  gobiernos locales y nacional la sociedad civil debe involucrarse para resolver necesidades tan básicas como el acceso al agua.. Es así como surgen modelos como el de las juntas de agua con el fin de hacer lo que hay que hacer.

¿Me puede contar un poco sobre su historia personal, y cómo eso te motiva a participar?

He  vivido aquí durante 25 años, y el agua no era un problema. Me mudé aquí con mi familia y teníamos agua suficiente para todo lo que necesitábamos. Pero con los años  empezamos a ver que la situación del agua estaba empeorando.

¿Podría describir cómo se dio cuenta de esto?

Una explicación sencilla. Básicamente en Honduras tenemos dos estaciones, la época de lluvias y la seca. Cuando llueve, nadie tiene preocupaciones sobre el agua, tenemos más agua de la que necesitamos. Pero luego durante los meses secos, no hay agua, hay más racionamiento.Y el racionamiento cada vez era más fuerte. 

¿Se hace ese racionamiento a través de políticas/gobierno?

Cada prestador del servicio de agua en una comunidad o ciudad decide como racionara el suministro del agua. En Tatumbla hubo  que hacerlo porque no había suficiente agua para todos. Y ahora, también tenemos que seguir racionando. Tenemos que comenzar ahora porque ya las fuentes de agua se están secando. Recuerdo que en 1995, cuando nos mudamos aquí, los problemas del agua no se percibian. Ahora podemos ver todos estos cambios. Por desgracia, tenemos graves problemas, daños  medioambientales que se ven por todos lados. Los arroyos que no son extremadamente abundantes, ahora están expuestos al sol debido a la muerte de miles de árboles a causa del gorgojo descortezador del pino. Muchos árboles fueron cortados y cayeron sobre los arroyos afectando el paso del agua Además  de eso, durante la estación seca sufrimos por incendios forestales que no deberían ocurrir todos los años lo peor es que la gran mayoría de los incendios en Honduras son intencionales.  Con los árboles quemados es más fácil ir a cortarlos para  leña. Honduras es considerado como uno de los tres países del mundo  más vulnerable ante el cambio climático. Recientemente leí que  este año vamos a ser afectados por otra sequía. .

¿Cuál fue su motivación para entrar en esto? 

Siempre me ha apasionado proteger el medio ambiente. Creo que es lo más importante y tenemos que cuidarlo. Es la base de la vida, ya que nos proporciona aire, agua, etc. Allí  comienza a generarse la calidad de vida. Este era el momento perfecto en mi vida donde tenía el tiempo, el conocimiento y la responsabilidad para hacer algo  al respecto.

¿Has visto algún rechazo porque eres una mujer?  

No realmente. De hecho, la otra persona que pasó de de la División de Agua a la junta de agua es otra mujer también.

¿Es eso típico?

No lo sé. Tal vez no es tan típico, pero nunca he sentido un problema aquí por ser una mujer. De hecho, en noviembre, cuando tuvimos las elecciones de la junta de agua nos eligieron a  cuatro mujeres de un total de siete miembros

¿Podría describir un momento que le gustaría compartir?

Estamos muy orgullosos cuando visitamos esta planta de tratamiento de aguas residuales y vemos que está funcionando. Porque, como dije antes, tenía un trabajo a tiempo completo, así que tuve que hacer muchos sacrificios personales para lograr algo en lo que creo. Esto me da mucha satisfacción.

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• Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot)

• Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Interviewed: January 2019

• Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

• Blog Post Author: Melissa Louie

Humans of AguaClara: Samuel Alfredo Yanez

Samuel Alfredo Yanez is a water treatment plant operator in Las Vegas, Honduras. Samuel is originally from Puerto Montes and came to Las Vegas when he was 15 years old.

Location of the Las Vegas AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras.

Samuel working with Luis to record plant operating data.

Samuel showing Agua Para el Pueblo and AguaClara Cornell students the Las Vegas filters.

Sunlight highlighting the AguaClara sedimentation tank at Las Vegas.

During the AguaClara Cornell trip to Honduras in January 2019, students spoke with Samuel about his background, position, and thoughts on how water treatment has changed his town. The original Spanish interview is shown below, with the English translation following.

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Español

¿De donde es? ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí? ¿Qué estudió?

Lo primero de todo, yo soy de Puerto Montes, pero hace unos años que vivo aquí. Tengo 26 años y no he terminado la carrera de ingeniería industrial. La abandone por la mitad más o menos.

¿Así que creció en Puerto Montes?

Si desde los 5 años hasta aproximadamente los 15.

¿Cuándo vino aquí?

Cuando tenía 15 años.

¿Así que estuvo aquí antes de la construcción de la planta de Agua Clara?

Sí. Esta zona es bastante popular para los que andan en bicicleta y por eso venía mucho con mis amigos. En ese entonces todavía había agua en la Quebrada. En invierno se suele llenar, aunque ahora se mantiene bastante seca. En aquel entonces cuando vine, se mantenía muy llena siempre. 

¿Podría decirme un poco sobre cómo era la vida antes de la planta de AguaClara?

Ahora vivo en el barrio San Juan, que está bastante alejado de aquí, así que no recibe agua del centro de Las Vegas. Recibe agua de otro lugar.  Pero antes de eso, yo vivía aquí en el centro. Durante las tormentas, todo el mundo cerraba el grifo y no usaba agua porque todo el mundo sabía que el agua era puro lodo. En el caso de mi familia, teníamos tres filtros de agua, pero era lamentable porque después de la tormenta, aunque no usaramos el agua, había que abrir y sacar toda la suciedad acumulada de la tubería. Además, era necesario limpiar los filtros cada mes debido a la gran cantidad de suciedad y de acumulacion de lodo. Desde que la planta comenzó a trabajar, todo el mundo empezó a comentar acerca del agua, incluso las personas que no reciben agua de la planta.

¿Qué pasa con cómo el agua afectó a las personas antes de tener la planta?

No se podía cocinar. Para bañarse era necesario tener un suministro de agua de la época de no lluvias. Si no, era bañarse para nada. A veces, uno abría el grifo y se quedaba pensando si iba a salir más sucio al salir de la ducha que al entrar. Eso era lo que más se comentaba, así que por estas razones, todo el mundo usaba agua embotellada para beber. 

¿Qué hay de la gente que no podía pagar el agua embotellada?

Bueno, de aquí vienen los problemas de salud. Los que no podían permitírselo tenían que beber el agua del grifo a pesar de saber que estaba contaminada.

¿Cómo ve su papel en AguaClara?

De manera personal, dejando el trabajo de lado, para mi es uno de los papeles de los que me siento más orgulloso, porque he podido ver personalmente un cambio tanto en el sector de salud como en general en la población. Los operadores se quedan aquí y yo soy el que sale a la comunidad y pregunta que como se encuentra la gente. Me siento muy orgulloso del trabajo que hago. Realmente es una sensación bastante agradable porque todas las personas que reciben agua de la planta, cuando llego ha hablar con ellos me reciben como si fuera parte de la familia.

¿Cómo ve su papel en el futuro?

Solo espero en el momento en el que la planta pueda suministrar agua a todas las vegas y que todo el mundo pueda experimentar lo mismo. Por diferentes papeles que desempeñé antes de trabajar en la planta, todo el mundo me conoce. Esto es un pueblo muy pequeño, y ahí un dicho popular que dice pueblo chico, infierno grande. Eso significa que todo lo que el mundo hace va a ser sabido. Entonces ahora cuando hay mucha gente que pregunta cuando la planta va a suministrar agua a este sector. Yo me he tomado el gusto de informarle a todos. Es por ello que lo que yo siento es como si fuera yo la planta y mi futuro fuera poder suministrarle agua a toda la población.

¿Qué es lo que más te gusta de tu trabajo?

Todo. Pero especialmente la satisfacción de ver que cuando hay una tormenta y hay mucha turbidez en el agua, el agua entra sucia por un lado de la planta y por el otro sale completamente clara. Además de saber que nosotros aportamos y formamos parte de todo ese proceso. Nos sentimos parte de algo muy grande. Para todos nosotros eso es lo más especial de este trabajo.

¿Qué se motiva?

Creo que la motivación más grande es saber que de alguna manera, mi generación y las generaciones que siguen, van a depender de esta agua. Es importante para mi que tanto mis hijos, como mis nietos y la gente que hoy recibe el agua de la planta tenga la mejor calidad. Desde que empecé, me enamore de este proyecto y siempre me he visto impulsado por la idea de que al igual que ustedes, necesitamos agua limpia de la que sepamo que no va a afectar negativamente ni a mis hijos ni a mi familia. Esa es la motivación más grande. 

Básicamente creo que es lo que a todos en la planta nos mueve. We are constantly trying to improve the plant, even sometimes without the permission of AguaClara people. Experimentamos porque deseamos que esto se convierta en más de lo que vemos.

¿Cuál es la parte más difícil de su trabajo?

Con respecto a mi puesto de trabajo, creo que lo peor es tener que tratar con más gente. Es complicado guiar a personas con diferente caracteres y lograr que todo el mundo trabaje como un solo equipo. Agregando a esto, todo el mundo tiene una manera diferente de pensar, entonces hacer que todos se centren en una sola idea no suele ser fácil. Pero gracias a dios, hemos logrado que el equipo trabaje hasta ahora perfectamente.

¿De qué está más orgulloso?

Me siento orgulloso de demasiadas cosas, pero de la que más, de los resultados finales. Es el proyecto más importante de esta comunidad aunque mucha gente no lo crea.

¿Puede describir esos momentos que se hacen sentir orgulloso?

Nosotros hemos tenido algunos problemas para que la planta trabaje al 100. El momento en el que vemos todo funcionar como si fuera un reloj (cuando el agua entra y la dosis es correcta, los sedimentadores trabajan bien etc.) es el momento del que nos podemos sentir más orgullosos. 

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English

Where are you from? How long have you been here? What did you study?

First of all, I am from Puerto Montes, but I have lived here for a few years. I am 26 years old and I have not yet finished my degree in industrial engineering.

So you grew up in Puerto Montes?

Yes, from 5 years to approximately 15.

When did you come here?

When I was 15.

So you were here before the construction of the Agua Clara plant?

Yes. This area is quite popular for those who ride bikes and that's why I came with my friends a lot. At that time, there was still water in the stream. In winter it is usually full, although now it is quite dry. At that time, it was always very full.

Could you tell me a little bit about what life was like before Agua Clara?

Now I live in the San Juan neighborhood, which is quite far from here, so I don't get water from downtown Las Vegas. We receive water from another place. But before that, I lived here in the center. During the storms, everyone turned off the tap and did not use water because everyone knew that the water was pure mud. My family had three water filters, but it was not enough because after every storm, even if we didn't use the water, we had to open and remove all the accumulated dirt from the pipe. In addition, it was necessary to clean the filters every month due to the large amount of dirt and mud accumulation. 

How did water quality affect people’s lives before the plant was built?

It was impossible to cook. To have a shower, it was necessary to have a water supply from the non-rainy periods. If not, it was a waste of time. Sometimes, one turned on the tap and kept wondering if one was going to get dirtier when leaving the shower than when entering. That was what was discussed most, so for these reasons, everyone used bottled water to drink.

And what about people that couldn’t afford bottled water?

Well, here comes the health problems. Those who could not afford it had to drink tap water despite knowing it was contaminated.

How do you see your role in AguaClara? 

Personally, it is one of the roles I feel most proud of because I have been able to personally see a change both in the health sector and among the population in general. I am the one who goes out to the community and asks how people are. I feel very proud of the work I do. It is really a pretty pleasant feeling because all the people who receive water from the plant, when I arrive to talk to them, they receive me as if I were part of their family.

How do you see your role in the future?

I am only waiting for the moment when the plant can supply water to all Las Vegas and that everyone can experience the same. From different roles I played before working at the plant, everyone knows me. This is a very small town, and there is a popular expression that says “small town, big hell”. That means that everything one does is going to be known. So now when there are people who ask me when the plant is going to supply water to their sector I take the pleasure of informing everyone. That is why I feel as if I were the plant, and my future was to be able to supply water to the entire population.

What do you love most about your work?

All. But especially the satisfaction of seeing that when there is a storm, and there is a lot of turbidity in the water, the water enters dirty on one side of the plant and on the other side it is completely clear. In addition to knowing that, we contribute and are part of that whole process. We feel like a part of something very big. For all of us that is the most special part of this work.

What motivates you?

I think the biggest motivation is to know that in some way, my generation and the generations that follow will depend on this water. It is important to me that both my children, and my grandchildren and the people who receive the water from the plant today, have the best quality. Since I started, I fell in love with this project and I have always been driven by the idea that, like you, we need clean water that will not negatively affect my children or my family. That is the biggest motivation.

Basically, I think that is what encourages all of us plant operators. We are constantly trying to improve the plant, even sometimes without the permission of AguaClara people. We experiment because we want this to become more than we see.

What is the hardest part of your job?

Regarding my job, I think the worst thing is having to deal with a lot of people. It is difficult to guide people with different characters and get everyone to work as a single team. In addition to this, everyone has a different way of thinking, so getting everyone to focus on one idea is usually not easy. But thank God, we have made the team work perfectly so far.

What are you most proud of?

I am proud of too many things, but the most important thing for me is the final results. It is the most important project of this community although many people do not believe it.

Can you describe those moments in which you feel most proud?

We have had some problems for the plant to work at 100%. The moment in which we see everything work as if it were a clock (when the water enters and the dose is correct, the settlers work well, etc.) is the moment we feel most proud.

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• Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot), Public (plant photo)

• Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Transcriptions and Translations: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Interviewed: January 2019

• Blog Post Authors: Melissa Louie and Kelly Ly

Humans of AguaClara: Luis Reyes

Luis Reyes is one of the water treatment plant operators in Las Vegas, Honduras, who works with Frances Calix from our previous Humans of AguaClara post. A native of Las Vegas, Luis is an industrial engineer and graduated from the University of San Pedro Sula. Prior to his current position, Luis worked as a production supervisor for a mining company.

Location of the Las Vegas AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras.

Plaque of the AguaClara water treatment plant building in Las Vegas, Honduras.

During the AguaClara Cornell trip to Honduras in January 2019, students spoke with Luis about his background, position, and thoughts on how water treatment has changed his town. The original Spanish interview is shown below, with the English translation following.

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Español

¿Cómo se llama? ¿De dónde es?

Mi nombre es Luis Reyes y soy nativo de esta comunidad. Soy ingeniero industrial graduado en la universidad de San Pedro Sula. Fue en este lugar donde fui al instituto y saqué mi graduado.

¿Y después de la escuela secundaria?

Fui a estudiar a San Pedro Sula.

¿Después de sacar su licencia, trabajó como ingeniero industrial?

Si, trabaje para una empresa minera de supervisor de producción y después vine aquí.

¿Y por qué vino aquí?

Por el ambiente en la mina, muy duro con tanta contaminación.

¿Cómo ha sido su experiencia con el agua?

Muy buena experiencia. Es satisfactorio saber que en las manos de uno mismo está la salud de toda una comunidad.

Era muy diferente [en mi juventud]. El agua entraba a las casas sucia y no había tratamiento potable. La recibimos tal cual venía de la montaña.

¿Cómo recibió su agua antes de que la planta fue construida?

Antes recibíamos agua sucia, contaminada, con bacterias. Había bastantes enfermedades gastrointestinales, diarrea, etc.

¿Tiene alguna historia específica?

En un poblado de aquí cerca había bastantes casos de enfermedades gastrointestinales.

¿Todavía hay esos problemas?

No, eso era años atrás, ahora esta planta ofrece agua potable.

¿Trabajar con agua fue la razón por la que viniste a trabajar aquí?

Si, esa es una razón. La otra es por la cuestión que comentamos antes de la situación en la mina.

¿Qué piensa la gente sobre el tratamiento del agua? ¿Comprenden lo que significa este proceso?

Casi no, no tiene plena conciencia. Hay gente que no lo valora.

Antes de hacer la planta hervía el agua o ¿qué hacía?

Antes si, se hervía el agua para matar las bacterias. Aquí ahora la desinfectamos.

¿Cómo fue la transición del agua sucia al agua limpia? [En el sentido de cómo la comunidad reaccionó a esto.]

La gente que tiene consciencia de esta situación, está muy contenta. Creen que fue muy buena decisión por parte de la alcaldesa. Aunque hay gente del otro partido (porque está todo muy politizado) que dice que no ha sido una buena idea.

¿Cómo vivía antes de que se construyera la planta?

Antes de la planta se vivía en condiciones infrahumanas. No había agua limpia, ni siquiera para  lavar los platos de los niños. Todo se hacía con agua sucia.

¿Y las propiedades del agua? (sabor, etc.)

Tenía un sabor muy fuerte y estaba bastante sucia. Parecía chocolate caliente.

¿Cómo se siente por ser parte de la comunidad del agua?

Me siento muy satisfecho. Ningún alcalde anterior se había preocupado como la actual alcaldesa de la situación del agua. Todos se enfocanban en carreteras etc. Estoy de acuerdo en que eso también es importante, pero sobre todo es importante el agua. Es esencial para la vida.

¿Cuáles son las responsabilidades de un operador en la planta?

Uno cuando vienen aquí a la planta, se tienen que mentalizar que uno se responsabiliza y que tiene que hacer las cosas bien hechas, a la hora de suministrar los químicos que no se pase de dosis etc.

¿Qué te motiva todos los días?

Tengo un niño. Además, la salud de toda la comunidad reside dentro de los cuatro operadores.

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English

What is your name? Where are you from?

My name is Luis Reyes and I am a native of this community. I am an industrial engineer and I graduated from the University of San Pedro Sula. I went to high school and got my degree here. 

What about after your highschool?

I went to study in San Pedro de Sula.

Did you work as an industrial engineer?

Yes, I worked as a production supervisor for a mining company and then I came here.

And why did you come here?

Because of the atmosphere in the mine, [work was] very hard with so much pollution.

How has your experience been with the water?

Very good experience. It is satisfying to know that the health of an entire community is in the hands of oneself.

It was very different [when I was a child]. The water entered the houses dirty and there was no drinking treatment. We received it as it came from the mountain.

How did you get your water?

We received the water dirty, contaminated, and with bacteria. There were quite a few gastrointestinal diseases, diarrhea.

Can you think of any specific stories?

In a town near here there were many cases of gastrointestinal diseases.

Are there still those problems?

No, that was years ago. Now this plant offers drinking water.

Working with water was the reason you came to work here?

Yes, that is one reason. The other is because of the issue we discussed before about the situation [pollution] in the mine.

What do people think about treating water? Do they understand what this process means?

Hardly. They don't have full awareness. There are people who do not value it.

Before having the plant, did you boil the water or what did you do?

Yes, the water was boiled to kill the bacteria. Now, the water is disinfected here.

How was the transition from dirty water to clean water? [In the sense of how the community reacted to this.]

People who are aware of this situation are very happy. They think it was a very good decision from the mayor. Beside this, there are people from the other political party that say it was not a good idea.

How did you live before the plant was constructed?

Before the plant, everyone lived in subhuman conditions. There was no clean water, not even to wash the children's dishes. Everything was done with dirty water.

And what about the properties of the water (flavor, etc.) ?

It had a very strong flavor and was quite dirty. It looked like hot chocolate.

How do you see yourself/feel about being part of the water community?

I feel very satisfied. Any previous mayor had worried about the water situation like  the current mayor has, but all of them focused on roads. I agree this is also important, but above all, water is the most important. It is essential for life.

What are an operator’s responsibilities at the plant?

When someone comes here, they have to be made aware that everyone must be responsible and that they have to do things well, when it comes to supplying chemicals.

What motivates you every day?

I have a child. Apart from that, the health of the entire community resides within the four of us [the four operators of the plant].

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• Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot), Felix Yang (plaque photo)

• Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Transcriptions and Translations: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Interviewed: January 2019

• Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

• Blog Post Authors: Melissa Louie and Kelly Ly

Humans of AguaClara: Frances Calix

Frances Calix works as an AguaClara plant operator in Las Vegas, Honduras. A native to Las Vegas, he remembers how unpredictable and often unsafe the drinking water was during his childhood, before the AguaClara water treatment plant was built in 2017. This 70 Liter per second (1.6 MGD) treatment plant was built by Agua Para el Pueblo, which partners with AguaClara for projects in Central America.

Location of the Las Vegas AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras.

The AguaClara water treatment plant building in Las Vegas.

Students from the AguaClara Cornell team interviewed Frances about his experiences living in Las Vegas and working in water treatment during an educational trip to Honduras in January 2019. Below is a transcript of the original interview with Frances in Spanish, followed by an English translation.

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Español

¿Cuántos años tiene? ¿Cuál es su fondo?

Mi edad son 42 años, soy nativo de aquí, de este lugar, fui perito en argentina, y ahora me dedico a esta otra área, que es la planta de AguaClara.

¿Crecía aqui?

Este municipio se llama Las Vegas, Santa Barbara. Nací aquí y crecí aquí.

¿Podría contarme un poco cómo era la vida en relación con el agua que usaba aquí cuando era niño?

Crecí consumiendo el agua contaminada. En temporadas de verano era normal pero en temporadas de lluvia bajaba llena de suciedad.

¿Cómo sabía que estaba contaminado?

Producía enfermedades consumirla: diarreas, vómitos… Además, sabíamos que estaba sucia por su apariencia.

¿Ustedes preparaban el agua de alguna manera antes de consumirla?

No en profundidad. Teníamos algo de información asi que algunas veces, solo se hervía, otras veces pensábamos que el agua bajaba mejor, más clara. La bebíamos por la mañana porque era cuando el agua bajaba más clara. Por alguna razón, por la tarde el agua bajaba más sucia.

¿Cómo se convirtió en parte de la industria del agua, y más específicamente en la planta de tratamiento Agua Clara?

Me gusto la idea de tener agua de mejor calidad, para nuestros amigos, familia y vecinos. Aparte de eso, era una buena oportunidad para tener trabajo.

¿Cómo describiría su papel en esta comunidad del agua?

Considero que haciendo lo mejor aquí, contribuyo a ayudar a mis vecinos, familiares… Intento estar aquí trabajando y hacer las cosas lo mejor posible. Trabajando aquí me doy cuenta de que las cosas que estoy haciendo tienen eco real. 

¿Puede describir los cambios [después de que se construyó la planta de tratamiento de agua]?

Primero, la salud de las personas de alguna manera ha mejorado. Antes asistían a clínicas y hospitales de manera masiva en temporada de lluvias.

¿Y en el día a día? (Mejor calidad del agua en su propia vida en términos de saneamiento, ducha, consumo...)

Eh bueno, al saber de que el agua es de calidad la consumimos con confianza, y ahora los vegetales y la fruta las lavamos con esta agua que sabemos que es mejor. También de alguna manera hemos notado que los gastos se han reducido porque antes se obstruían más las tuberías. A veces ni se podía lavar la ropa porque era ensuciarla más. Podemos bañarnos cuando y las veces que queramos con agua limpia. Podemos tomar el agua directamente del grifo sabiendo que no nos va a causar problemas de salud.

Volviendo a tu papel, ¿qué se motiva a mejorar?

Me motiva saber que poco a poco hay más gente que conoce información acerca de las plantas de agua clara. Además, me motiva saber que de alguna manera, la gente está apostando por tener agua de calidad en este pueblo. La gente se ha involucrado en el proyecto y es satisfactorio ir a servir a otras personas para que puedan consumir agua de calidad.

¿De que está más orgulloso?

Somos los primeros en trabajar en esta planta y darle al pueblo lo que siempre soñó es bueno.

¿Cuál es su sueño para la planta?

Sueño con que la planta trabaje a un 100%. Hemos tenido muchos avances. Siento que nos la entregaron para que la desarrolláramos, y la hemos ido desarrollando bastante. Ahora siento que lo único que le queda son pequeños detalles. Al principio nos encontrábamos con problemas que hoy no se ven, pero que al principio sí. Había algas raras que aparecían y hacíamos pruebas que daban algunos resultados buenos y otros malos. Descartamos todo lo malo y con eso conseguimos el progreso.

¿Qué le gustaría conseguir?

Lo que quiero lograr es que el agua que nosotros enviamos a los alrededores sea de la mejor calidad, y que ya no haya fallos. De repente si nos descuidamos, podemos contaminar todas las redes de distribución. Espero que esto no suceda y que a partir de ahora todo sea más fácil.

¿Cuál es su esperanza para el futuro?

Espero que se logre el objetivo al 100%. Hemos visto como el proceso se ha acelerado. A través de las observaciones y los resultados que hemos obtenido nos damos cuenta de que si lo vamos a lograr. Solo estamos mejorando algunos detalles para que quede completamente listo. Los problemas que ocurren ahora no son de la misma escala que los que ocurrían antes.

Y ahora, a una escala más global, ¿podría describir lo que desea para el futuro?

Deseo que la idea de estos proyectos se expanda por todos los lados, sobre todo en lugares donde se sabe que se está consumiendo agua contaminada. Vemos cómo las personas sufren e incluso nacen enfermedades en la piel. Si se logran expandir estas iniciativas, como las de las de Agua Clara, esto va a mejorar bastante. Lo más importante es la salud de las personas.

Si puede hacer un comentario final para la gente de todo el mundo viendo esto, ¿qué sería?

Este tipo de proyectos requieren de gran coste y pienso que si hubiera personas que pudieran ayudar a que este proyecto funcionara, podría ayudar a muchas personas. 

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English

How old are you? What is your background?

I am 42 years old, I am a native of this municipality in Honduras. I was a [technician] in Argentina, and now I am dedicated to this other area, which is the AguaClara water plant.

Did you grow up here?

This municipality is called Las Vegas, Santa Barbara. I was born here and grew up here too.

Could you tell me a little bit about how life was in relation with the water you used here when you were a kid?

I grew up consuming contaminated water. In summer seasons it was normal but in rainy seasons it was full of dirt.

How did you know it was contaminated?

It caused diseases when we consumed it: diarrhea, vomiting...In addition, we knew it was dirty because of its appearance.

Did you prepare the water in any way before consuming it?

Not in depth. We had some information, so sometimes we just boiled, other times we thought the water was better, clearer. We drank it in the mornings because it was when the water went down clearer. For some reason, in the afternoon the water went down dirtier.

How did you become part of the water industry, and more specifically in AguaClara treatment plant?

I liked the idea of having better quality water for our friends, family and neighbors. Apart from that, it was a good opportunity to have a job.

How would you describe your role in this water community?

I believe that by doing my best here, I contribute to helping my neighbors, family ... I try to be here working and do my best. Working here I realize that the things I am doing have real [impact].

Can you describe the changes [after the water treatment plant was built]?

First, people's health has somehow improved. They used to attend clinics and hospitals massively in the rainy season.

What about in the day to day? (Better water quality in your own life in terms of sanitation, shower, consumption...)

Knowing that the water is of quality, we consume it with more confidence. Now we wash the vegetables and fruit with this water that we know is better. We have also somehow noticed that the expenses have been reduced because before, the pipes were more clogged than now. Sometimes you couldn't even wash your clothes because it was dirtying them more. We can shower whenever we want with clean water. We can drink the water directly from the tap, knowing that it will not cause us health problems.

Getting back to your role, what motivates you to improve?

It motivates me to know that, little by little, there are more people who know information about AguaClara water plants. In addition, it motivates me to know that somehow, people are betting on having quality water in this town. People have been involved in this project and it is satisfying to go to serve other people so they can consume quality water. 

What are you the proudest of about your work?

We are the first [operators] to work on this plant and give the people what they always dreamed of is good.

What is your dream for the plant?

I dream of the plant working 100% [of the time]. We have had many advances. I feel they gave it to us in order to develop it, and we have been developing it a lot. Now I feel that the only thing left is small details. At the beginning, we were facing a lot of problems that are not visible today. For example, there was rare algae that appeared, so we were doing tests that gave some good and some bad results. We put away everything bad and with the positive results we get the progress.

What would you like to achieve?

What I want to achieve is that the water that we send to the surroundings is of the best quality, and that there are no longer faults. If we are careless, we can contaminate all distribution networks. I hope this does not happen and that from now on, everything will be easier.

What is your hope for the future?

I hope the goal is 100% achieved. We have seen how the process has accelerated. Through the observations and the results that we have obtained, we realize that we are going to achieve it. We are only improving some details so that it is completely ready. The problems that occur now are not of the same scale as those that occurred before.

And now in a more global scale, could you describe what you want for the future?

I want the idea of these projects to expand on all sides, especially in places where it is known that contaminated water is being consumed. We see how people suffer. If these initiatives are expanded, such as those of Agua Clara, this will improve a lot. The most important thing is people's health.

If you can make a final comment for people around the world seeing this, what would it be?

These types of projects require a lot of [investment] and I think that if there were people who could help make this project work, it could help many people.

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• Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot), Nicole Wang (plant photo)

• Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Transcriptions and Translations: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Interviewed: January 2019

• Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

• Blog Post Authors: Melissa Louie and Kelly Ly

Humans of AguaClara: Darwin Vallejo

Darwin Alexi Vallejo is the operator for the Cuatro Comunidades (Honduras) AguaClara water treatment plant, which runs 24 hours a day and provides water to four different villages in the surrounding area: Los Barrios, Rio Frio, Aldea Bonita, and La Jagua. The Cuatro Comunidades plant was a project constructed by AguaClara's partner in Honduras, Agua Para el Pueblo (APP). At the time of the interview, he had also been serving on the community water’s Board of Directors for around ten years in different roles, including president and treasurer. The Board executes the projects that are needed to provide all families with drinking water.

Location of the Cuatro Comunidades AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras.

The sedimentation tanks in the Cuatro Comunidades AguaClara water treatment plant.

During the annual AguaClara Cornell trip to Honduras in January 2019, team members interviewed Darwin about his experience as an operator. Below is a transcript of Darwin's interview in Spanish, the original interview language. An English translation of the interview follows.

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Español

¿Cómo se llama? ¿Cuántos años tiene? 

Mi nombre es Darwin Vallejo. La zona donde estamos se compone de cuatro aldeas: Los Barrios, Riofrío, Aldea Bonita y la Jagua. Cada aldea tiene 2 miembros en la junta directiva.

Con respecto a mi papel en la junta de agua, ahora estoy desempeñando el papel de fiscal. Represento a una de las aldeas, la que se llama La Jagua. Además, también trabajó en la planta de tratamiento de agua. Este domingo que viene, va a haber nuevos cambios en la junta directiva y aun no sé en qué puesto voy quedar. Llevo diez años dentro de la junta de agua pero he estado en diferentes puestos. Siempre voy a ser operador pero con respecto a ser directivo nose nunca en qué puesto voy a quedar. La junta directiva es votada por la asamblea general, en la cual participan todos los abonados al servicio de agua (380 personas de las 4 aldeas)

Como se involucró?

Participé en una asamblea y me propusieron un puesto, el cual acepté.

¿Por qué conseguiste este papel?

Yo no soy de aquí, de la comunidad. Soy hondureño pero de la parte sur. Quise involucrarme para servir a la comunidad y he aprendido mucho como directivo y coordinador. También en lo que es el proyecto he sido vocal, presidente, fiscal, fontanero, tesorero… Son puestos muy diferentes.

En la comunidad hay 380 abonados, de los cuales 36 tienen micromedidores. Los micromedidores hacen su función cuando una persona o una fábrica que usa agua, hace mucho gasto de agua. En este caso, se le instala un micromedidor.

¿Se les cobra por ese gasto?

Si, dependiendo de la cantidad de agua que gasten conforme al micromedidor que tienen instalado. Se dan 3500 galones y si alguien pasa el límite permitido de los 3500 galones al mes, se les cobra a 4 centavos el galón. Por ejemplo hay iglesias y fábricas que pagan de 400 a 600 galones extra.

¿Puede describir su papel?

Revisar los ciclos de ingresos en el banco y contabilizar los cobros a la tesorera. Revisar las facturas de compra etc.

¿Puede describir su relación con el proyecto?

La junta de agua es una asamblea en la que nadie quiere participar porque no hay sueldo. Cuando el presidente propone a alguien para formar parte, todo el mundo pone excusas, porque al no haber sueldo nadie quiere. Cuando me lo propusieron a mí me pareció buena idea y esto solo duraba dos años.

Hice los primeros 2 años y luego la asamblea me volvió a proponer. Volví a aceptar porque me gustaba y ya sabia como funcionaba todo el proceso. Por eso me he quedado aquí.

¿Tiene hijos?

Si, cuatro.

¿Cuántos años tienen?

16, 14, 7 and 1.

¿Cómo le parecen de su trabajo?

Les parece bien. Ellos estudian y entienden el proceso del agua. Mi hijo dice que cuando se haga mayor va a trabajar en esto también porque le gusta.

¿Cómo ve su generación?

Las escuelas hacen excursiones a este sitio. Cuando nos visitan, los alumnos están encantados con lo interesante y lo bonito que es el proyecto de AguaClara.

¿De qué tipo de proyectos está a cargo el Consejo de Administración?

Siempre están a cargo mejorar el proyecto. Si ven que no está llegando agua a una de las comunidades, deben construir otro tanque; hacer que el agua llegue con más presión etc. Además también se encargan de mejorar la economía etc.

Si llega una familia nueva, se encargan de ofrecerle el servicio. No queremos que la gente tenga problemas de salud por no ofrecerles este agua.

¿Qué te motiva a seguir adelante?

Me gusta el trabajo que hago en la planta, y quiero llevar a mi familia el pan de cada día. 

¿Cómo se relaciona este proyecto con quién es?

Recorrí un camino muy largo para llegar hasta aquí. Como ya dije, yo no vivía aquí, vivía en la zona sur. Luego estuve involucrado en una pelea en la que me apuñalaron. Entre en prisión porque le asesine. Cuando salí, vine aquí porque aquí era donde vivía mi familia. No tenía trabajo pero este proyecto me ofreció la oportunidad de entrar a trabajar aquí y por eso me quede. Fue difícil porque estuve preso casi 3 años. Por los antecedentes no tenía mucho trabajos donde escoger porque no me querían en ninguna parte. 

Llevo en la junta unos 10 años pero en la planta solo llevo 3. Bajo su punto de vista, trabajo bien y por eso me quede. La gente me apoya, por lo que se me hace difícil retirarme si la gente está confiando en mi.

¿Cómo fue la transición de ser parte del Consejo de Administración a ser parte de la planta?

Estaba en la junta directiva y el trabajo allí no estaba muy bien pagado. Aquí solo había un operador y querían otro para que la planta trabajará 24 horas.

¿De que está más orgulloso?

De todo el proyecto en general. Hemos visto cómo la lucha de 10 años ha merecido la pena. Hemos visto cómo todo ha mejorado y estoy orgulloso de ser parte de esto.

¿Puede explicar un momento o una historia importantes?

Me siento orgulloso de cuando en las asambleas hacen una pregunta, porque soy capaz de contestar. Como operador uno se siente orgulloso de saber contestar y decir como funcionan cada cosa.

¿Cree en su papel?

Si. Cada vez que llega el invierno y el agua baja sucia, yo trato de hacer lo mejor y que el agua quede lo más limpia posible. Porque tengo familia, y se que estan esperando agua clara. En invierno a veces no tenemos tiempo ni de dormir y tenemos que trabajar 24 porque el agua llega muy sucia. Pero aun así, tratamos de dar a la gente el agua limpia que se merece. 

El servicio está las 24 horas en las casas. Por eso nosotros tenemos que trabajar 24 horas, para que ellos puedan tener las 24 horas el servicio funcionando. 

¿Podrías ofrecer algo que podamos hacer mejor? / ¿Qué recursos necesitan?

Nosotros queremos un filtro para que el agua salga todavía más limpia. Como no tenemos el filtro, algunas partículas muy pequeñas se siguen colando. Aparte del filtro queremos, siempre estamos dispuestos a mejorar y a veces no tenemos el dinero suficiente.

¿Cuándo están haciendo cálculos de dinero qué tipo de sistemas usan?

Tenemos un libro para registrar todas las actividades económicas. Nada más que eso.

Si lo desea, puede enviar un mensaje final a alguien que lea o escuche esto.

AguaClara ha venido a ayudar a muchas comunidades, muchas familias, muchos niños. Por ello hay que apoyar al proyecto de AguaClara.

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English

Who are you / what is your name? How old are you?

My name is Darwin Vallejo. The area where we are consists of four villages: Los Barrios, Riofrío, Aldea Bonita and la Jagua. Each village has two members on the Board of Directors.

Regarding my role in the Water Board, I am now playing the role of prosecutor. I represent one of the villages, which is called La Jagua. In addition, I am a worker of the water treatment plant. This coming Sunday, there will be new changes in the Board of Directors and I still don't know what position I will be in. I've been in the Water Board for ten years but I've been in different positions. I will always be an operator but with respect to being a manager, I will never know what position I will remain. The Board of Directors is voted by the general assembly, in which all subscribers to the water service (380 people from the four villages) participate in.

How did you get involved?

I participated in an assembly and they offered me a position, which I accepted.

Why did you get this role?

I am not from here, from the community. I am from Honduras but from the southern part. I wanted to get involved to serve the community and I have learned a lot as a manager and coordinator. Also inside this project, I have been vocal, president, prosecutor, plumber, treasurer…They are very different positions.

In the community there are 380 subscribers, of which 36 have micrometers. Micrometers measure when a person or a factory makes use of a lot of water. In this case, a micrometer is installed.

Are they charged for that expense?

Yes, depending on the amount of water spent according to the micrometer they have installed. 3500 gallons are given without paying anything, and if someone passes that allowed limit per month, they are charged 4 [Lempira] cents each gallon. For example, there are churches and factories that pay for 400 to 600 gallons extra.

Could you describe your role?

Review the income cycles in the bank and account for the collections to the treasurer. Review purchase invoices, etc.

Could you describe your relationship with the project?

The Water Board is an assembly in which nobody wants to participate because there is no salary. When the president proposes someone to join, everyone makes excuses, because when there is no salary, nobody wants to. When they proposed to me, I liked the idea and this only lasted two years.

I did the first two years, and then the assembly proposed to me again. I accepted again because I liked it and I already knew how the whole process worked. That's why I stayed here.

Do you have children?

Yes, four.

How old are they?

16, 14, 7 and 1.

What are their thoughts about what you are doing?

They are ok with it. They study and understand the water process. My son says that when he grows up he will work on this too, because he likes it.

How do you see their generation?

Schools make excursions to this site. When they visit us, students are delighted with how interesting and beautiful the AguaClara project is.

What kind of projects are The Board of Directors in charge of?

They are always in charge of improving the project. If they see that no water is coming to one of the communities, they must build another tank; make water arrive with more pressure etc. In addition they are also responsible for improving the economy, etc.

If a new family arrives, they are responsible for offering the service. We do not want people to have health problems by not offering them this water.

What motivates you to keep going?

I like the work I do on the floor, and I want to bring the daily bread for my family.

How does this project relate to who you are?

I went through a long way to get here. As I said, I did not live here, I lived in the southern zone. Then I was involved in a fight in which I was stabbed. I ended up entering prison because I killed him. When I left, I came here because this was where my family lived. I had no job but this project offered me the opportunity to go to work here and that's why I stayed. It was difficult because I was in prison for almost three years. Because of the background, I didn't have many jobs to choose from because they didn't want me anywhere.

I've been on the board for about 10 years, but on the plant I've only been three. Under their point of view, I work well and that's why I stayed. People support me, so it is difficult for me to retire if people are trusting me.

How was the transition from being part of the Board of Directors to being part of the Plant?

I was on the Board of Directors and the work there was not very well paid. Here there was only one operator and they wanted another for the plant to work 24 hours.

What are you most proud of?

Of the whole project in general. We have seen how the 10-year struggle has been worth it. We have seen how everything has improved and I am proud to be part of this.

Can you describe one important moment/story?

I feel proud when they ask a question in the assemblies, because I am able to answer. As an operator, one is proud to know what the answer is and say how everything works.

Do you believe in your role?

Yes. Every time winter comes and the water goes down dirty, I try to do my best and make the water as clean as possible. Because I have a family, and I know they are waiting for clear water. In winter, sometimes we don't have time to sleep and we have to work 24 because the water is very dirty. But even so, we try to give people the clean water they deserve.

The service is 24 hours in the houses. That is why we have to work 24 hours, so that they can have the service running 24 hours.

Could you offer any idea of something we could do better? / What resources do you need?

We want a filter so that the water comes out even cleaner. As we do not have the filter, some very small particles continue to pass through. Apart from the filter we want, we are always willing to improve and sometimes we don't have enough money.

When you make money calculations what kind of systems do you use?

We have a book for the registrar of all economic activities. Nothing more than that.

If you want, you can send a final message to someone reading or listening to this.

AguaClara has come to help many communities, many families, many children. Therefore, we must support the AguaClara project.

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• Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot), Anishka Singh (plant photo)

• Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Transcriptions and Translations: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

• Interviewed: January 2019

• Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

• Blog Post Authors: Melissa Louie and Kelly Ly

My First Month in Odisha

By Subhani Katugampala

It has now been a month since I arrived in Odisha, India to work with Gram Vikas on a new AguaClara project. By the end of August, the village of Lahanda will be home to a pilot Chemical Dose Controller system. Our first step was to visit the district of Keonjhar to see the progress of Lahanda’s water tank.

From the capital city of Bhubaneswar, we went on a 7 hour train ride to the village. While it was quite long, the train offered stunning landscapes from every viewing point. The area was lush green for the most part, with many crops and animals scattered throughout. At one point, we even came across beautiful mountains that painted the skyline.

The mountainous terrain captured on the train ride to and from Lahanda.

When we finally arrived in Keonjhar, we headed straight to the village to see construction progress of the water tank. Once completed, the water tank will also house the AguaClara Chemical Dose Controller (CDC) system. The project manager, civil engineer, and other Gram Vikas staff and village members walked us through the site, pointing out the eventual location of the CDC system and the constructed wells that will serve as the water source. Lahanda’s water tank is expected to be completed by the end of July.

Lahanda’s future water tank that will house the Chemical Dose Controller.

Gram Vikas’s civil engineer, Sobhagya, in Keonjhar walking up the bamboo steps to show the progress on water tank construction.

The next day, we met with Gram Vikas staff to give them a brief overview of the CDC system. This way, they can start familiarizing themselves with the disinfection technology and facilitate conversations with the village about the operator selection process and community education programs.

Once the presentation was complete, everyone seemed to become excited by how easy the CDC system was to operate, which was amazing to hear! Hopefully, they can spur the same level of excitement in the community so when the time comes that the village is ready to install the CDC system, everyone will be working together to get the system up and running.

Showing the schematics and the prototype of the CDC system.

The full team that will be collaborating on the CDC project in Lahanda.

After unpacking from a hectic two day visit, I realized that I had left my water bottle back in the village. Hopefully, the last time that I leave Lahanda, I won’t leave behind a water bottle; hopefully, I will leave a village that is one step closer to having safe water on tap.

Progress and Adventures in Odisha, India

AguaClara Engineer Carol Serna is kicking off fabrication of the chemical dose controller in Odisha with Gram Vikas. In no time, villages will be getting clean drinking water on tap with the help of AguaClara technologies!

Follow her story here: http://indiaac2017.blogspot.in/2017/05/visits-to-villages.html