North Cotabato Philippines Tank Installation and Skyhydrant Unit Monitoring.
This Global Grant project has been ticking along since 2015 with a number of setbacks along the way, including a change in the structure of the Global Grant to ensure sustainability and a slight problem with conflicts in the original project area.
The project has not been easy to implement and has required significant work by PP Terry Carmichael and PDG Tim Moore to make it work and get it to its current stage. Obviously, it has also taken a lot of work by the people on the ground to deliver the project.
Water Filtration for Six (6) Villages (GG# 1753140) at Barangay San Isidro, Midsayap, North Cotabato; Barangay Indahag, Cagayan de Oro City; and Barangay FS Catanico, Cagayan de Oro City’s, Philippines.
GG#1753140 is implemented with the objective of providing safe water supply to local residents in order to prevent the transmission of waterborne pathogens.Clean water also reduces the exposure of individuals to chemical and physical hazards that could be ingested through contaminated drinking water. Diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases still rank among the leading causes of illnesses in the country. More information on what a Skyhydrant is can be found at:
This week, we have received a report for the North Cotabato Barangay site, which was turned over on 10th January 2020.
- Purchased 1,000 litres capacity stainless steel tank from Cagayan de Oro as the supply of tanks in Midsayap or nearby cities are limited
- Delivered the tank to Dualing c/o Dualing Marketing Cooperative headed by its President Aquilino Alinsangao who will manage the operation of the unit.
- Installed the tank at the temporary site near the source besides the barangay hall. Target permanent area will be at their coop office at the back of the covered court. As of the moment their office was used as an isolation unit for LSIs coming back to their barangay.
- Challenges encountered: unit is underutilized. During the visit, only 1 regular customer was availing of the clean water with four (4) containers being filled daily. The coop has not done any marketing of the water yet and are already thinking of availing a loan for the purchase of a vehicle to deliver the clean water to the residents and other target customers outside their barangay.
- We suggested to start small and to encourage the members to patronize their product first and they themselves become the marketing arm, recruiting their friends to buy the clean water from the coop at a lower rate of P15 per container (the regular rate at refilling stations is at P25 – P30 / 5 gal. container). They can also ask those members that have vehicles (Motorolla's) to be the ones to deliver to customers outside their barangay and sell the water for additional income.
- They were also expecting to receive the structure promised last January during the installation. They can give counterpart for the labor.
- Plan of action: Coop to call a board meeting to discuss possible actions and call a general assembly after to introduce the safe drinking water services of the coop.
- Needs frequent follow-up.
And also a report from San Isidro, Midsayap, North Cotabato
Visited Brgy. San Isidro and met with Rtn. Vic Sambo who welcomed us as Kap Valmoria was not around because of some emergency meeting with the Governor. Midsayap Rotary Past President Wilson Cortez was also around during the visit.The unit is maintained by the women’s group of San Isidro headed by Ms Milagros Aposacas who does the backwash every day. She’s one of the 6 BHW trained during the formal turn over held last January 11, 2020.
Before the pandemic, most of the residents availed of the clean water for free especially the children. A pipe from the clean water tank is attached going to the school which is just beside the location of the skyhydrant water system. An average of 20-30 containers per day or average of 100 persons/day availed of the clean water.
Recently at the onset of the pandemic, those that fetched water from other barangays stopped getting water from Barangay San Isidro, due to travel restrictions. Because of the postponed classes, fewer children beneficiaries were able to avail themselves of the skyhydrant unit’s clean water. Only those who reside near the barangay covered court, where the unit is located, are regular customers fetching water at an average of 5 containers daily.
Actions taken: Re-orient staff in-charge on the operation and schedule of when to do the chlorination (once a week), especially given their source of water is brownish. Suggested putting a roof over the clean water tank and skyhydrant to protect the unit from becoming brittle and the hose from accumulating moss, thus contaminating the water. Clean/disinfect the water tank once a month. Recommended to have the clean water tested by an accredited water testing centre in Midsayap.
The Rotary Club of Berwick: Making a difference to the world in the many projects that it engages in.