Background

The entity that we (the District Water Task Force) are working with is called Engineers Without Borders  (here is there website link http://www.ewb-usa.org/).  Their efforts focus on providing clean water and sanitation, renewable energy and affordable housing to communities around the world.  The organization, working with Universities and Colleges (as well as other organizations), links student groups (that do the work pro bono) with local villages and communities to  provide design, construction and education related to the needed services and infrastructure.  They also have in country NGOs that provide longer-term assistance to benefit communities in the form of education and training.

We have been working with Dick Herring of EWB who specializes in pulling together projects in Thailand.  He has been instrumental in helping us identify village needs, scoping out the project, and providing us with the detailed information regarding costs, contributing schools, etc.

The project that we have been following with Dick was in Pa Tueng village.  The project involves capturing water in a near-by spring, constructing a diversion "box", piping the water 3 kilometers to a 1,000-gallon storage tank and constructing the local distribution system to a school and village.  The original cost for this project was estimated to be about  $5,000.  This is the project that we shared with you in earlier emails.

During project planning there was significant change to that project. In late December EWB was contacted by Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association (www.uni-bell.org) with an offer to provide all the PVC pipe to all of EWB's projects (or at least those in Thailand).  The entry of Uni-Bell as an angel for EWB has impacted the estimated costs for our project, since most of the costs were for providing pipe from water source to the village.  There still is a project, and the need for our financial support, it is just that the cost of the project has been reduced from about $5,000 to about $1,000.

Prior to beginning the project, Mr. Harring identifying other water and sanitation needs that exist for local villagers and school children, that fit with our timeframe and objectives.  As luck would have it, another project in a nearby village (Mai Nun Kehn) is happening the week of March 21st (recall that the Pa Tueng project will be constructed the week of March 14th).  The Mai Nun Kehn project involves constructing a latrine for a school dormitory such that the children have a place to go to the bathroom, bathe and wash clothing and bedding.  The total cost of this project is about $2,500.

Action

The Broomfield, Longmont and Centennial Clubs teamed up to support these two projects at a cost of about $1,200 per club.  There efforts made an immediate impact on the quality of life for more than 200 school children and another 200 villagers in the rural mountains of Thailand.  Their donations provided:

• Reliable and sustainable potable water supply for 120 school children and 100 plus villagers - the school supports the village and area hill tribes; and

• Sanitary latrine to maintain sustainable health for 80 school children and 100 villagers and protection of their water supply.

Project partners  - Columbia University and Rowan University (NJ) and University of California Santa Barbara