DePaul Students make a difference in the lives of Native Americans

FARMINGTON, N.M. - Nov. 22, 2016 - PRLog -- When most people think of dirty water or lack of access to food, they think of places like rural Africa and third-world countries throughout the globe. What most people don't know is how much water and food poverty affects hundreds-of-thousands of Americans too. Nearly 40 percent of the 173,000 Navajo in the U.S. don't have access to any plumbing in the home or to grocery stores.

With a planet and a human body that is 70 percent water, it becomes more apparent how vital this transparent liquid is to human life. Most people, especially in America, take this precious resource for granted and automatically assume that running water is a part of all Americans' lives. On the Navajo Nation, that is not the case. Water is either hauled from a community water source or delivered monthly via tanker trucks.  Food is commonly bought from fast food restaurants or gas stations with little to no healthy options.  This lack of access to clean water and healthy food traps the Navajo people within a cycle of poverty that limits health, educational opportunity, and economic security.

In response to these unfortunate realities that most Americans cannot even comprehend, a group of MBA students from DePaul University have set a motion to change this.  Over the last few months, students raised over $12,000 to go towards various water projects.  The DePaul students partnered with the charity, Water is Life, and the Permaculture Provision Project to implement tangible solutions that present short and long term solutions to the Navajo water and food crisis.

The first two projects include the introduction of permaculture methods to 2200 acres of highly degraded landscapes and the supply of an emergency water treatment system to a chapter house that can serve a region of chapters on the Navajo Reservation.

The primary goal and concept in Permaculture is to create long term fresh food and water sustainability on the Navajo Nation.  DePaul students raised the funds for Water is Life and the Permaculture Provision Project to get the projects into the final stages.  Using Permaculture methods of infiltrating water into the ground and creating perennial food forests, we expect to see the creation of sites that eventually provide pure spring water, and fresh food via reforestation of the highly degraded landscape on the Navajo Nation.

The secondary goal of this project is to offer an alternative solution to alleviate water stress by enabling the Navajo Nation Emergency Management Bureau to utilize portable fresh water drinking systems.  This will offer remote locations on the reservation immediate assistance when water supplies are compromised during seasonal storm events.

We encourage you to visit our face book page https://www.facebook.com/NavaH20Nation/?fref=ts&ref=b... or our ongoing donations page http://www.depaulnavah2o.myevent.com/3/donate.htm to spur more water projects to empower those living on the Navajo Nation.

Water is Life-  a 5013c focused on water solutions for underserved areas.

Permaculture Provision Project -  a 5013c focused on permanent agricultural and water solutions in degraded landscapes.

DePaul University- A Catholic, Vincentian University that pursues the preservation, enrichment, and transmission of knowledge and culture across a broad scope of academic disciplines.  Depaul is dedicated to teaching, research, and public service that emphasize skills and attitudes that educate students to be lifelong, independent learners.