A conversation with Caitlin, Simón, and Belkis Automatic audio transcript; may contain errors. [0:00] My name is Caitlyn Terry and I'm working in well drilling water projects and rain catcher [0:05] projects for the past seven years now. [0:08] So here in Panama I have the opportunity to partner with the Healing Fund and we work [0:14] together to provide rainwater catchment as well as drill borehole wells for people [0:19] that really lack access to safe drinking water. [0:21] A lot of the water here, the sources of water are surface water sources and that [0:27] can be very easily contaminated. There are cows that are pretty much free range and then as well as [0:33] they don't have very good latrine facilities or bathroom facilities and so a lot of that [0:38] surface water is easily contaminated. And so what the Healing Sun does is work with communities to [0:42] provide rainwater catchment as well as drill borehole wells. And one of the most important [0:47] aspects about our partnership is that we've trained and I've spent the past couple years [0:53] working sensibly with a man named Simone. He's a local Novi man and he's been [1:00] trained by the Healing Fund and how to do rainwater catchment and he's been [1:03] trained in drilling and he can go into these communities and he lives here [1:08] full-time and he is water expert here. For a water project or any project really [1:12] to be sustainable it's important to have to really invest in the community [1:17] and to invest with a local with someone that understands the culture, [1:20] understands the native language the Novi people Spanish is their second language [1:25] and so to be working with Simone who speaks Novi who also speaks Spanish and [1:31] he understands the culture he's familiar a lot of the places we go he has [1:35] relatives in those areas and so so he's trusted in those communities and so [2:13] Simone can kind of head up a project he's the person they're going to go [2:17] throughout the year. So as we partnered to fund Simone and to make sure he has [2:22] enough supplies to keep drilling wells and keep doing rainwater catchment [2:25] throughout the year, that's the way a project becomes most sustainable. He [2:29] understands how to repair the pumps. He understands if a well goes dry what to do [2:34] or how to repair a rain catchment tank. So we just have to instill in him [2:37] the knowledge and make sure he has the supplies that he needs available and he [2:41] can continue even when we're not around to work with him. [2:44] Mi nombre es Simón. Quiero trabajar con la comunidad en el Ministerio de Agua. [2:51] Mucha necesidad en las diferentes comunidades y también ellos no tienen buen agua, [2:59] pero estoy buscando pozo para que ellos puedan consumir buenas aguas. [3:08] Y ese plan que yo tengo para cada pueblo, cada indígena nove. [3:13] Thank you. [3:15] We first started working in this particular area of Isla Bastimentos in 2014 and we installed [3:23] a well for a community that used primarily surface drinking water. [3:28] With the rain catchment, with the spring water and as well as the wells, we found that [3:35] the health of the community has really improved. [3:38] There are not as many cases of diarrhea as there used to be. [3:42] so common that they wouldn't even consider having diarrhea to be an illness. [3:47] It was just a way of life, it just was how it was. [3:51] And so now there's not as many diarrheal issues because they have access to this water that [3:58] through rain catchment, through borehole wells and through proper spring containment systems. [4:04] One of the highlights of working with this team and working with the Healing Fund [4:10] was doing rainwater catchment in the village adjacent to us. We were able to [4:15] provide a good source of water to the school. They said there were about three [4:19] of us, four of us from our team, and then four men from the community that [4:23] worked together to provide this rain catchment that was going to give water [4:27] to the teacher as well as the school. And it's really important to [4:30] provide for the teachers in these areas because these are remote villages. [4:34] These teachers are sent out to these areas and they have to live in these [4:37] remote communities for Monday through Friday and so if they don't have water if [4:42] they don't have things that maybe they're used to having in another town [4:45] it's really discouraging it's hard to get teachers to stay here so it was [4:49] really I was really happy to be able to work with the guys in the community and [4:54] the Healing Fund team to make sure that the teacher as well as the students [4:58] would have an ample supply of drinking water. My name is Belkis, Belkis Kiros [5:05] and I am the teacher of the Valle Grande School. [5:08] In this community there are approximately 110 inhabitants. [5:15] Our principal problem always has been water. [5:17] Water is our vital resource and we don't have enough of it. [5:19] For my eight years working in this community, [5:21] I've gotten to know the organization Rotary [5:23] that have made our quality of life better, [5:25] bringing reserve tanks of water, [5:27] helping us in our small communities [5:29] that have been forgotten by government organizations [5:31] and institutions. [5:33] So two years ago they brought the tanks. [5:36] We have a tank here now. In previous years other members of the community have [5:40] benefited not just the school but in various homes they've installed reserved [5:44] tanks. Our communities feel totally grateful with this benefit. The rotary [5:50] gave us a tank of water. In past years when these organizations did not exist [5:55] members of our community died from many illnesses. So thanks to all of you [6:01] your collaboration, the love in your heart and your support has brought a [6:05] a drop of hope, of happiness to our lives here.