250,000 people in Nicaragua Gain Safe Water with PVC Pipes, Chlorine, & help from a Minnesota non

SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Sept. 4, 2014 - PRLog -- 250,000 people in Nicaragua Gain Safe Water
 with PVC Pipes, Chlorine, and help from a Minnesota nonprofit

September 4, 2014 – St. Paul, MN – A quarter of a million people in Nicaragua have gained safe drinking water for the first time in their history by installing the CTI Water Chlorinator, (http://www.compatibletechnology.org/our-tools/current-technologies/water-chlorinator.html) a device created by St. Paul, MN-based nonprofit, Compatible Technology International (CTI). CTI announced Thursday that they had reached their 4 year goal of bringing safe water to over 250,000 people after training 474 villages to use and maintain CTI Water Chlorinators since 2010.

The chlorinators were invented by CTI, a nonprofit that designs and distributes food and water tools for developing nations. The CTI Water Chlorinator is made of PCV piping and utilizes inexpensive chlorine tablets to eliminate virtually all bacteria and parasites found in village water sources.

According to the World Health Organization, (http://www.irinnews.org/report/88520/water-unsafe-water-t...) unsafe water is the leading cause of disease and death in the world. “Lack of clean, safe water undermines social well-being and economic growth,” said CTI Executive Director, Alexandra Spieldoch. “By providing access to safe water, we eliminate a key barrier to good health in developing nations.”

In Nicaragua—the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere—CTI and its partners at nonprofits EOS International and Self-Help International train rural communities to install and operate CTI’s Water Chlorinator, which provides potable water to a village of up to 1,000 people. Villages purchase chlorinators for $200 fee and organized volunteers replenish the chlorine tablets, which cost families less than a dollar per year.  Regional Health Ministry offices provide education on improved hygiene and sanitation, and evaluate the long-term impact of the program at CTI’s installation sites. The project is led by CTI and funded by Project Redwood, Pentair, and donors.

“In Nicaragua, CTI is saving lives.  When communities gain clean, safe water, families are healthier, school attendance rises, healthcare costs drop, and economic opportunity improves,” said Spieldoch. According to the World Health Organization's report Safe Water, Better Health (http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241596435_...), every $1 invested in water and sanitation can yield economic benefits on average between $7 and $12.

CTI plans safe water to an additional 60,000 people in Nicaragua over the next 12 months.

###

Compatible Technology International (CTI) (http://www.compatibletechnology.org/) is St. Paul, MN-based nonprofit that designs and distributes tools in collaboration with small farmers and their communities to improve food and water security in developing nations. CTI’s tools empower smallholder farmers with better food production, increased incomes and more sustainable livelihoods.

Photos: http://goo.gl/jy4EV0
Video (files available upon request): http://youtu.be/0DE9DDkh5_g


About CTI in Nicaragua: http://www.compatibletechnology.org/what-we-do/programs/nicaragua.html