Programs / Water / Communities / El Junquillo «

 

About El Junquillo

El Junquillo is a community in the municipality of Goascorán in the

department of Valle in southern Honduras.  There are roughly 560 people

residing in 80 houses.  Community members in El Junquillo cannot obtain

enough water to meet their basic needs, meaning that they must forgo

many basic hygiene and sanitation practices.  Thus, common colds, skin

rashes, parasites, and diarrheal diseases plague community members. 

Moreover, few homes have concrete floors, proper functioning latrines,

adequate water storage, or efficient stoves with chimneys, which further

exacerbates their health problems.  The closest health center is in Langue,

which is a one hour walk from El Junquillo.  It is not consistently staffed nor

stocked with an adequate supply of medicine.  In regards to education, the

closest secondary school is located in El Platero.  School is only offered

until 6th grade in El Junquillo and many students leave school to begin

working to support their families after 6th grade.  Like their parents, they

often work in agriculture, raising corn for subsistence, or work in construction. 

Several other families rely on remittances from the United States and

abroad to support their families.

 

About El Junquillo

El Junquillo never had a centralized water system providing access to all

members of the community.  Many community members dug wells on their

property, although they generally only found superficial sources.  Thus, the

water supply dried up quickly and families did not have enough water to

meet their needs, forcing them to skip basic hygiene and sanitation practices. 

Further endangering their health, few community members trated their water prior to consuming it and there was no centralized water treatment plan, which greatly increased their risk of contracting waterborne disease.

 

Many of the wells dried up during the dry season and several families were forced to share the same well.  As there are often a shortage of water in the well, they subsequently needed to share the minimal supply.  Water very quickly became a prized commodity as the community was already suffering from a severe shortage of the resource.

 

 

The Water Solution for El Junquillo

Water Brigaders from several different universities worked in El

Junquillo from March 2014 to May 2014. During that time, these

volunteers worked with community members to:
     •  Perforate a well and install a pump
     •  Construct 10,000 gallon storage tank with chlorinator
     •  Dig approximately 7,500 meters of trench and lay pipeline
     •  Connect approximately 100 houses and 1 school
     •  Provide educational seminars to children in the community on water 
        and health related topics

To ensure the sustainability of the project, a new seven member Water Council was established and trained by Water Brigades in addition to a Basic

Sanitation Committee also trained by Water Brigades.

                                                                                            

When Water Brigades first entered the community of  El Junquillo a dire water need was observed. Despite soaring temperatures and the unrelenting sun, community members have demonstrated their desire for water through their collaboration and dedication to the project. The Water Team  looks forward to finishing the project and providing them  with access to this precious resource.

                                                                                           

 

Water Brigades Chapters that Worked in El Junquillo
Water Brigades Chapter	Month	Volunteers
Carnegie Mellon University	March 2014	29
University of North Carolina	March 2014	16
Washington University in St. Louis	March 2014	17
University of Arizona + UNLV	March 2014	22
Indiana University	March 2014	12
University of Connecticut	March 2014	18
UC Davis	March 2014	14
UC San Diego	March 2014	10
UC Irvine	March 2014	4
Drexel University	March 2014	15
Williams College	March 2014	10
University of Pittsburgh	April 2014	22
University of Michigan	May 2014	6
UNC Wilmington	May 2014	13
Arizona State University	May 2014	17
University of Missouri	May 2014	14
Philadelphia Students	May 2014	16

 

 

Current Status

Last Visit: July 25, 2014
The Water Brigades team last visited the community of El Junquillo on July 25, 2014 to officially inaugurate their new water system. The system has been functioning for a couple of months and community members report great satisfaction with it.

 

Project Photos

 

Visit Other Programs in El Junquillo

Global Brigades strives to implement a model of Holistic Development in communities through a system of collectively implementing health, economic, and education initiatives to strategically meet a community's development goals. Learn more about the other programs being implemented in El Junquillo:

Medical Dental CHW Engineering  Microfinance  Public Health  BusinessArchitecture