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Sanitation and Water, Community and Child Health:
Corazon estimates that more than 51% of Mexicans live in poverty with insufficient resources to provide basic living needs including housing, water supply and sanitation. Corazon therefore supports the building of communities by strengthening families, enabling service, promoting self-sufficiency and inspiring mutually beneficial relationships across borders. (Information copied from Corazon website, some editorial added).
Corazón provides a sense of community in which all families within it can help themselves while helping others. Corazon raises funds in collaboration with volunteers and constructs homes within a community for families. The family must be actively involved in the project. The homes are septic system ready, but these have not historically been part of the program until the pilot project in March 2015. few homes have access to piped water owing to the cost and connection fees.
The serious need for hygiene and welfare of families and the community is the provision of water and waste management (sanitation). This involves the retroactive placement of septic systems where a property is suitable for such installation. It also involves the provision of piped water to the property where this is feasible. As part of Rotary, this fulfills part of the objective of Rotary, namely to provide sanitation and clean water; as well as contribute to child health and improvement in basic hygiene, which means disease prevention. Running water, hand washing and septic tanks lead to a better quality of life for both the families and the community
The YLSRC now has experience with the installation of 5 septic systems, as retroactive fitting of suitable homes. We understand the cost issues and are constantly working to reduce these to a lower level. We expect the cost per tank and installation to be reduced from $1700 to $1500 for the coming Rotary year. YLSRC and the Long Beach Rotary club are teaming up to implement this project. The clubs anticipate upwards of 15 Rotarians being involved in the program (and plans collaboration with other Rotary clubs), from assisting installation of running water and septic systems, to working to raise additional funds for more systems. The funds we are currently requesting are for the installation of 12 to 13 septic systems to improve sanitation for 12-13 homes during the 2016-2017 Rotary year. Engineers without Borders are advising us, having conducted the scoping of the pilot project. This is a District Grant as ALL FUNDS ARE MANAGED and PAID IN THE USA, through Corazon, which is based in Santa Ana, CA.
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