Journey to Nicaragua! Donate Fundraise On Saturday 19th November 2022, four Water for All Committee Members will be setting off on their exciting journey to Nicaragua; with an aim to visit three projects which focus on clean drinking water, hand washing and menstrual hygiene awareness. The cost of these projects add up to a total of £47,514.00 all of which have been covered by your generous contributions via payroll giving. Your money has directly reached over 2400 Nicaraguan families, children and teachers and indirectly many more. Your donations make a world of difference to those in need and as promised 100% of your money is directly used for the projects and not for travel or internal admin expenses. The company representatives are; Lindsay Vickors - Atlas Copco Tools and Industrial Assembly Solutions Emilia Hoyle – Atlas Copco IAS UK Limited Galina Sigera – Atlas Copco Rental Alexandra Hatt – Atlas Copco Compressors The team would have loved to have live streamed their visit but with remote Wi-Fi not guaranteed they will make sure to blog throughout and share on their return – keep an eye out for more posts soon! We are fortunate enough to have 195 colleagues contributing via payroll giving (which is amazing – thank you) should you want to join this group, please complete this form and return to your HR Department. Equally, we are extremely lucky and grateful for those one off donations, if you'd like to make a donation you can do so here: Please select a donation amount (required) £5 £10 £15 Other Set up a regular payment Donate What has the Water for All Committee been up to in Nicaragua? Nicaragua is the third poorest country in the western hemisphere. In the past decades, the country has been a victim of natural disasters and civil war that have destroyed infrastructure, drained resources, and inhibited economic development. This is why the Water for All committee have supported Just a Drop to run three brilliant projects in Nicaragua so far! These projects are as followed: Las Mesitas Safe Water Project We are working with the community of Las Mesitas to fit a submersible electric pump that will deliver water from a borehole to an elevated distribution tank (14m³ capacity.) The water will be filtered at the inlet to the tank and then distributed through a piped system directly into the homes of the community members. This project will secure sustainable water for the current community members as well as meet the needs for a growing population over the next twenty years. With clean water, the children especially will benefit from increased health, improved performance in school and in the long term, improved economic opportunities. So far we've been able to complete the following elements of the project: Water storage tank construction Pump house Main line Perimeter fence Construction of 35 water stations Completion of the distribution line And it's already making such an impact, one community member told us: No more buckets on our heads! We will no longer have to walk so far to fetch water, as we will have it inside the house--what happiness! The children will have safer drinking water. We spend almost half of our lives fetching water, and we always wondered when will we ever have drinking water in the community? We looked at it as an unattainable wish, but it has been achieved. Today we can say that our lives will change in terms of health and comfort. We wish the donors health and unity so that they continue to bring drinking water to other communities that need it as much as we do. Tierra Amarilla, Monte Grande, Las Jaguas School Sanitation Projects Thanks to your support, we are working in three schools to improve the hygiene sanitation. So far, we've completed the work at Las Jaguas School ahead of starting at the two remaining schools. In Las Jaguas, we have been able to build two double pit latrines, one single pit latrine and a handwashing station for the 45 children and teachers at the school. We've also trained the teachers and students in WASH education, menstrual hygiene and handwashing Thanks to this project: Children in an extremely remote area of Nicaragua have access to latrines and handwashing facilities Open defecation rates have already dropped Girls in particular will benefit, as they will be able to access adequate toilet facilities when on their periods Hygiene improves, as students can wash their hands and positive hygiene behaviours are maintained Sanitation improves, through the new hand washing stations near latrines and WASH training Children can attend school more regularly as they are no longer sick from sanitation-related diseases We look forward to updating you on the other two schools in due course! Menstrual Hygiene Management Programme We are also going to be working with 60 schools to train 120 teachers in menstrual hygiene management. The teachers will take part in a series of workshops that will provide comprehensive teaching materials for teachers, covering all aspects on menstruation, for girls and boys. They will help the teachers to learn how to introduce the topic into their schools. We'll also work with the schools to produce a Menstrual Hygiene brochure as a handy guide on the topic, and we'll build Hygiene Corners in each school classroom, strengthening personal hygiene practices in children and breaking down taboos around the subject! Thank you so much again for your support and generosity; we look forward to updating you on the projects when we return!