Water for Life Honduras

(Photo contributed) Honduran villagers work alongside students with Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras on a water project paid for with Rotary Club dollars. Recently, the local Rotary Club spearheaded another massive fundraising project bringing in more than $35,000 for five water projects to be done in Honduras. [Click to enlarge]

A local group is about to change the lives of people of five villages, plagued with parasites and other water-borne diseases.

The Le Mars Rotary Club spearheaded fundraising for water projects in Honduras, pulling together more than $35,000.

That's enough to build a water system in each of those five villages, bringing clean, potable water to more than 1,000 people's homes.

Three of the villages are high in the Montaņa de la Flor region of Honduras, home to the Tolupan, the oldest group of indigenous people in the country.

"They use local streams and springs, often contaminated by human and animal waste, as their water source," said Lorie Nussbaum, Le Mars Rotary Club member. "They are suffering because there is not clean water."

Having running water will give the people more time to raise crops and care for their children, she added.

The Le Mars Rotary Club, which already spearheaded three similar "Water for Life Honduras" projects brought together more money for this group of projects than ever before.

"Each grant has increased in size as more clubs and more contributions have come into the projects," Nussbaum said.

The fundraising for this group of water projects started in Le Mars, where the local Rotary Club raised $4,336.

Five other clubs from the district kicked in, including people from Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota, adding a combined $5,750.

The Rotary District then matched those dollars with $10,000, and Rotary International answered a grant request with an additional $15,000.

In addition, a Honduran Rotary Club contributed $100 to the projects.

"That's a large amount of money for these people," Nussbaum said.

Local students will be part of the first water project, helping the village of La Florida set up a water system.

That Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras team, made up of 20 students and nine adults from Gehlen Catholic, plus other students, will construct a catch basin, dig trenches, lay PVC pipes and build water terminals throughout the village.

The water system will serve about 170 people.

As is always the case with these water projects, local villagers will do the work to complete it.

"It helps them build ownership of the project and to continue to build on their sense of community," Nussbaum said. "We buy all the materials there to help their economy."

A local person will also be trained in how to operate and maintain the system so the village can be self-sufficient, she added.

Before the water projects are even set up, Mission Honduras representatives, like Richard Seivert, director, and his brother Frank Seivert, make a connection and seek approval from each village's local leaders.

Some villages, hearing of previous water projects, have sent letters of request to the Rotary group for a water project in their community.

Once the project is completed, a representative from Le Mars Mission Honduras usually visits the village to make sure it is working well and sometimes to share in a special dedication ceremony.

All five of the newly-announced Rotary water projects should be completed within 18 months, Nussbaum said.

"For the three projects high up in the mountains with the Tolupan, the supplies will probably go up on the backs of mules because you can't drive trucks up there," Nussbaum said.

The plan is to build a rock basin to catch spring water, add a tank to chlorinate the water and use PVC pipes to bring the water to locations near the homes.

The Le Mars Rotary Club's push to bring clean water to the people of Honduras dates back to 2004 when a connection was forged with Mission Honduras Le Mars and Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras.

Rotary member Lorie Nussbaum talked to Richard Seivert about helping eradicate polio in Honduras. Eradicating polio is one of Rotary International's main focuses.

Seivert instead proposed helping with water projects.

The idea proved to be a success.

These five recently announced projects will bring the grand total of villages served by Rotary Water for Life Honduras projects to 11.

These projects fit well with the Rotary mission: "Service before self," Nussbaum said.

"The focus is bringing these people clean water -- part of the basis of life," she said. "It will change their lives."