WEBVTT NOTE Automatic audio transcript; may contain errors. 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.980 My name is Caitlyn Terry and I'm working in well drilling water projects and rain 2 00:00:04.980 --> 00:00:05.260 catcher 3 00:00:05.260 --> 00:00:08.240 projects for the past seven years now. 4 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:13.580 So here in Panama I have the opportunity to partner with the Healing Fund and we 5 00:00:13.580 --> 00:00:14.100 work 6 00:00:14.100 --> 00:00:19.020 together to provide rainwater catchment as well as drill borehole wells for people 7 00:00:19.420 --> 00:00:21.440 that really lack access to safe drinking water. 8 00:00:21.580 --> 00:00:26.500 A lot of the water here, the sources of water are surface water sources and 9 00:00:26.500 --> 00:00:27.660 that 10 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:32.380 can be very easily contaminated. There are cows that are pretty much free range and 11 00:00:32.380 --> 00:00:33.220 then as well as 12 00:00:33.980 --> 00:00:37.920 they don't have very good latrine facilities or bathroom facilities and so a lot of 13 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:38.020 that 14 00:00:38.020 --> 00:00:42.160 surface water is easily contaminated. And so what the Healing Sun does is work with 15 00:00:42.160 --> 00:00:42.940 communities to 16 00:00:42.940 --> 00:00:47.400 provide rainwater catchment as well as drill borehole wells. And one of the most 17 00:00:47.400 --> 00:00:47.660 important 18 00:00:47.660 --> 00:00:53.000 aspects about our partnership is that we've trained and I've spent the past couple 19 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:53.180 years 20 00:00:53.180 --> 00:00:58.520 working sensibly with a man named Simone. He's a local Novi man and 21 00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:00.100 he's been 22 00:01:00.100 --> 00:01:03.780 trained by the Healing Fund and how to do rainwater catchment and he's been 23 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:08.160 trained in drilling and he can go into these communities and he lives here 24 00:01:08.160 --> 00:01:12.860 full-time and he is water expert here. For a water project or any project really 25 00:01:12.860 --> 00:01:17.200 to be sustainable it's important to have to really invest in the community 26 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:20.280 and to invest with a local with someone that understands the culture, 27 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:25.280 understands the native language the Novi people Spanish is their second language 28 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:30.440 and so to be working with Simone who speaks Novi who also speaks Spanish and 29 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:35.860 he understands the culture he's familiar a lot of the places we go he has 30 00:01:35.860 --> 00:01:41.420 relatives in those areas and so so he's trusted in those communities and 31 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:13.480 so 32 00:02:13.480 --> 00:02:17.240 Simone can kind of head up a project he's the person they're going to go 33 00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:22.400 throughout the year. So as we partnered to fund Simone and to make sure he has 34 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:25.460 enough supplies to keep drilling wells and keep doing rainwater catchment 35 00:02:25.460 --> 00:02:29.980 throughout the year, that's the way a project becomes most sustainable. He 36 00:02:29.980 --> 00:02:34.140 understands how to repair the pumps. He understands if a well goes dry what to do 37 00:02:34.140 --> 00:02:37.920 or how to repair a rain catchment tank. So we just have to instill in him 38 00:02:37.920 --> 00:02:41.940 the knowledge and make sure he has the supplies that he needs available and he 39 00:02:41.940 --> 00:02:44.280 can continue even when we're not around to work with him. 40 00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:49.940 Mi nombre es Simón. Quiero trabajar con la comunidad en el 41 00:02:49.940 --> 00:02:51.260 Ministerio de Agua. 42 00:02:51.480 --> 00:02:57.280 Mucha necesidad en las diferentes comunidades y también ellos no tienen 43 00:02:57.280 --> 00:02:59.180 buen agua, 44 00:02:59.720 --> 00:03:04.420 pero estoy buscando pozo para que ellos puedan consumir 45 00:03:04.740 --> 00:03:07.020 buenas aguas. 46 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:13.820 Y ese plan que yo tengo para cada pueblo, cada indígena nove. 47 00:03:13.820 --> 00:03:14.780 Thank you. 48 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:21.200 We first started working in this particular area of Isla Bastimentos in 49 00:03:21.200 --> 00:03:23.840 2014 and we installed 50 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:28.060 a well for a community that used primarily surface drinking water. 51 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:33.460 With the rain catchment, with the spring water and as well as the wells, 52 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:35.340 we found that 53 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:37.660 the health of the community has really improved. 54 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:42.660 There are not as many cases of diarrhea as there used to be. 55 00:03:42.660 --> 00:03:47.140 so common that they wouldn't even consider having diarrhea to be an illness. 56 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:51.060 It was just a way of life, it just was how it was. 57 00:03:51.500 --> 00:03:57.440 And so now there's not as many diarrheal issues because they have access to 58 00:03:57.440 --> 00:03:58.100 this water that 59 00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:02.220 through rain catchment, through borehole wells and through proper spring 60 00:04:02.220 --> 00:04:03.380 containment systems. 61 00:04:04.260 --> 00:04:09.340 One of the highlights of working with this team and working with the Healing Fund 62 00:04:10.660 --> 00:04:15.860 was doing rainwater catchment in the village adjacent to us. We were able to 63 00:04:15.860 --> 00:04:19.500 provide a good source of water to the school. They said there were about three 64 00:04:19.500 --> 00:04:23.120 of us, four of us from our team, and then four men from the community that 65 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:27.120 worked together to provide this rain catchment that was going to give water 66 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:30.900 to the teacher as well as the school. And it's really important to 67 00:04:30.900 --> 00:04:33.920 provide for the teachers in these areas because these are remote villages. 68 00:04:34.080 --> 00:04:37.280 These teachers are sent out to these areas and they have to live in these 69 00:04:37.280 --> 00:04:42.780 remote communities for Monday through Friday and so if they don't have water if 70 00:04:42.780 --> 00:04:45.320 they don't have things that maybe they're used to having in another town 71 00:04:45.320 --> 00:04:49.920 it's really discouraging it's hard to get teachers to stay here so it was 72 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:54.640 really I was really happy to be able to work with the guys in the community and 73 00:04:54.640 --> 00:04:58.880 the Healing Fund team to make sure that the teacher as well as the students 74 00:04:58.880 --> 00:05:04.370 would have an ample supply of drinking water. My name is 75 00:05:04.370 --> 00:05:05.930 Belkis, Belkis Kiros 76 00:05:05.930 --> 00:05:08.390 and I am the teacher of the Valle Grande School. 77 00:05:08.950 --> 00:05:11.770 In this community there are approximately 110 inhabitants. 78 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:16.860 Our principal problem always has been water. 79 00:05:17.140 --> 00:05:19.520 Water is our vital resource and we don't have enough of it. 80 00:05:19.700 --> 00:05:21.200 For my eight years working in this community, 81 00:05:21.340 --> 00:05:23.340 I've gotten to know the organization Rotary 82 00:05:23.760 --> 00:05:25.520 that have made our quality of life better, 83 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:27.220 bringing reserve tanks of water, 84 00:05:27.340 --> 00:05:29.520 helping us in our small communities 85 00:05:29.520 --> 00:05:31.820 that have been forgotten by government organizations 86 00:05:31.820 --> 00:05:32.820 and institutions. 87 00:05:33.930 --> 00:05:36.050 So two years ago they brought the tanks. 88 00:05:36.050 --> 00:05:40.810 We have a tank here now. In previous years other members of the community have 89 00:05:40.810 --> 00:05:44.170 benefited not just the school but in various homes they've installed reserved 90 00:05:44.170 --> 00:05:49.960 tanks. Our communities feel totally grateful with this benefit. The 91 00:05:49.960 --> 00:05:50.180 rotary 92 00:05:50.180 --> 00:05:55.320 gave us a tank of water. In past years when these organizations did not exist 93 00:05:55.320 --> 00:06:01.270 members of our community died from many illnesses. So thanks to all of you 94 00:06:01.270 --> 00:06:05.450 your collaboration, the love in your heart and your support has brought a 95 00:06:05.450 --> 00:06:08.630 a drop of hope, of happiness to our lives here.