Purpose of the planning mission, was:

• To investigate the best way to provide safe drinking water to settlements in designated extreme poverty areas in the Ucayali Region of Eastern Peru.
• To seek improved well designs and economies in both materials and construction services.
• To ascertain village participation in well construction and proper usage.
• To assure a continuing well maintenance and sanitation program could be established.
• To assess the integrity of financial and project management.
• To determine the potential of undertaking larger scale projects.

Planning Mission Report:

Our mission focussed on villages and settlements, to the west of Pucallpa, which have no safe drinking water. It validated a clear and urgent need to proceed with the project.

Findings:

1. Children are dying from unsafe and untreated water.
2. Water is rarely chlorinated.
3. Intestinal diseases are endemic throughout the population.
4. There are outbreaks of cholera.
5. Women and children expend enormous time and effort to meet the family,s daily water needs.
6. Adult villagers are generally illiterate and uninformed.
7. These desperately poor people have few possessions and infrequent opportunities to earn money.
8. The climate is generally very hot and humid necessitating a high liquid intake.
9. The existing open bucket and rope wells are unsafe and rarely disinfected.

Instead of using a suspected or proven unsanitary well, the people revert to taking water from streams and dirty pools. Although not yet organized, there is local capability to set up, monitor and maintain wells and to educate the users who are mainly women and children. Electrification of these areas is some years away. There are very few hand pumps in use. The region is recovering from civil insurrection. Government resources are limited.

Conclusions:

Water is good, everybody should have some, and water should not make anyone sick. In most sites, a deeper drilled well with a low-tech tubular bailer will provide superior quality water, be safer, more sanitary, and cost less than the traditional shallow excavated "rope and bucket well. Wells need concrete pads with proper drainage and a separate washing area to keep them sanitary. The local communities require education programs in well usage/maintenance/disinfection.

Recommendations:

Develop well sites in phases (do 1-3, check/improve/change then do 6-10, 12-24 etc.) The Pucallpa Club should continue its liaison with Government education, health and agricultural departments and with Public Health International who can help set up and train village committees. Get more North American Rotary clubs involved in World Community Service projects.

What difficulties and successes did the Discovery Grant volunteer team experience?

Difficulties: No significant difficulties were encountered. The trip made physical, mental and emotional demands. 

Success: We learned much of the geography, culture and hydrology of the region. We had hands-on experience of well drilling, assessing potential well designs and water extraction methods. We were able to propose improvements that make wells more sanitary, easier to maintain, reduce costs and increase safety. The changes will produce more and better wells within a given budget. The Governor of Ucayali Province promised that his government would maintain any well built by this project.

What experiences or outcomes of this activity contributed to improve international understanding?

Our visit showed poor rural families that there are people in the developed world who care and are prepared to help them. We learned from the graciousness, frankness and friendliness of these folk that dignity is certainly not measured by wealth. Our hosts and other fellow Rotarians, introduced us to the Food, Music, Dance, Art, History, and Culture of Peru, treated us as honoured guests and became trusted friends. We shared our daily lives in Canada and cleared up some mutual misconceptions about our countries. We also distributed brochures about our home municipality. We visited over 20 communities; saw schools and medical posts. Small gifts were given to many of the children we talked to in the settlements.

If the proposed project proved feasible, what is the next step? Will your club/district apply for another Rotary Foundation Grant (e.g. Matching Grant, 3-H Grant) in relation to the project?

We determined the project is feasible. Low-cost, low-tech solutions exist. With a Matching Grant we can build the initial wells. However there is a need for more than 200 wells so we must get other North American clubs involved and meet the safe water needs of all these settlements. We will invite any North American club without a WCS project to participate in the Pucallpa project. That way more Rotarians will become involved in the international opportunity to serve and the Ucayali wells will get built faster. After another club partners on this project they can spread the Rotary message by undertaking further WCS projects on their own.

Additional Comments:

Lessons Learned/Recommendations for other Carl P. Miller Grant Travelers:

Do the homework before going - it pays dividends.

The Internet is a great source of information relevant to the project, water wells, pumps, facts and statistics etc. Additionally there is excellent current travel advice and preliminary introduction to culture, habits and social manners. E-mail is a highly efficient, fast and economical means of communication that also helps build better relationships. Without it, the Discovery Trip would have been long delayed and more complex to arrange.

Knowledge of the local language is helpful.

Someone present who is fluent in both languages is almost essential for technical and commercial discussions. Mutually plan the agenda and detailed travel itinerary before leaving home. Allow time each day to reflect on objectives, observations, and make notes. Obtain sufficient rest. Small gifts are greatly appreciated (pins, shiny new pennies, T-shirts, baseball caps etc.). Integrated solutions and sustainability are key elements. We can,t just build wells and leave them to become unused hazards. Projects must include planning for sustainable development.

Photographs and video are invaluable. We use them to revisit sites, share the experience with fellow Rotarians in our own and other clubs and publicize these urgent needs to the public The two of us shared accommodation and were together 98% of the time. While very different, we are both tolerant, sociable people. We got along extraordinarily well and became firmer friends. PERU One is expected to shake hands with males at each greeting and at each departure. Similarly females expect a kiss on the right cheek. Beware of counterfeit money - there is a LARGE quantity circulating. Mail is slow and expensive. The costs of long distance telephone calls are exorbitant.

Rotary Discovery Trip Volunteers, Ted Lands and Cliff Myhill

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