Water Project

The water project would not have exsisted had a biologist named Jocelyn come along to volunteer with the foundation.  She is the one who tested water sources in the area to determine if there was a clean source of water.  Here are some pictures of Jocelyn testing and searching for a clean source of water.

The Testing Kit

Jocelyn was able to obtain a testing kit from a University in Cochabamba.  This allowed her to test for a bacteria that causes 95% of stomach problems in the area. 

        
The above are just two of the many results that came from Jocelyn´s testing.  The left sample comes from a water source that services the communities of the Chapare.  Each blue and white dot represent a type of bacteria.  More than ten dots mean that the water should not be consumed.  All sources of water in the area had at least 100 bacteria colonies.  The right is a sample taken from a high tech water filter.  It has no bacteria colonies, or dots. 

              
The right sample shows that water that was coming out of the school tap before.  It has over 400 bacteria colonies.  The sample on the right was taken from the spring that is now pumped to the school.  Only 5 bacteria colonies...drinkable!

In Search of the Source

 
You have seen those large tanks in towns across the world that hold water for the people in those towns.   They are usually high structures that are decorated like golf balls or peaches.  This is the same kind of water tank for the people of the Chapare.  It is small, rudimentry, and the water should never be consumed by humans.  Unfortunately, this is the water that families who are lucky enough to have a tap receive.  These families are also under the assumption that this water is being cleaned through a clorination system.  A system that hasn´t worked in years.

 
With the help of locals, Jocelyn was able to find Spring de Tierra.  The spring runs clean water year round.