NEWS

FACES and Cafe Femenino Visit Clean Water System in San Antonio, Peru

San Antonio is off the beaten path. A tourist would have little reason to visit San Antonio – it's not on any trekking trails, there aren't any major attractions nearby, and there is no accommodation, besides private homes, for visitors. The village of San Antonio, which consists of about 100 families, lies deep in Peru's Amazonas Region in the north of the country, nestled on the side of a lush green hillside, high enough in the mountains to produce coffee beans.

Together with two partnering groups, Cafe Femenino and Green Empowerment, FACES has helped bring a clean water system to San Antonio, thanks to a generous $40,000 grant from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters based in Waterbury, VT. The clean water project entailed installing pipelines from a freshly built water tank about a mile north of the village. The community members of San Antonio were involved in all aspects of the completion of this project, including the manual labor needed to construct the water tank and install the pipelines.

The clean water project in San Antonio is multi-tiered, as it is essential to assist with both infrastructure and education. A water tank was installed and piping was laid to bring clean, potable water to each home in the village, meaning that the 500 people of San Antonio can now drink water from taps right in their homes. Each home also received a new latrine installed in locations so as not to contaminate any of the water sources. The FACES team was involved in providing health education to the community of San Antonio on topics such as gastrointestinal health.

Access to clean water is one of the best ways to improve overall health and wellbeing of an entire community. Nearly 80% of diseases in developing countries are related to contaminated water. FACES is so excited to be part of this clean water project in San Antonio, and we're looking forward to collecting data to assess the impact of the this project on the community.

During the November/December pre-surgical trip to Peru, FACES representatives, including Dr. Albert (FACES Founder and President) visited San Antonio with members of the Cafe Femenino Foundation to check out the finished clean water system. The community members welcomed us with open arms, showing us incredible hospitality. The team toured the village, saw the new latrines, as well as the newly installed pipelines, faucets and showers in each home. Check out the pictures and videos below from our trip!bbbb

VIDEO: Clean Water: Fresh Life

The FACES/Cafe Femenino group toured homes in San Antonio to see the newly installed Clean Water System. Each home now has clean, potable water! Access to clean water is one of the best ways to improve overall health. At right, Dr. Albert (FACES Founder and President) celebrates the accomplishments in San Antonio drinks some clean water for himself!

Above: FACES and Cafe Femenino check out the newly installed water holding tank - the source of clean water that is piped to the village.

Above: The groups dines on arrival in San Antonio. The meal included fresh vegetables and cuy, special Peruvian guinea pig.

Above: Dr. Albert enjoys a cup of fresh water, now potable thanks to the clean water system.

Above: This man is the founder of San Antonio village. He was welcomed FACES and Cafe Femenino upon their arrival to the community.

Above: Dr. Albert of FACES with Gay and Garth Smith (co-founders of OPTCO and Cafe Femenino), along with Marilyn Dryke and Connie Kolosvary of Cafe Femenino Foundation.

Above: School children in San Antonio welcome FACES and Cafe Femenino with handmade signs upon their arrival in the village.