Cuba May 2018

In May 2018 we returned to Cuba for our second visit this year. This trip built upon the work we started in February when we installed a temporary water filter system in the barrio of Luyano, Havana. We had a group of 13 and we installed (2) water filter systems in Limonar, (1) system in Luyano and we delivered a system to the Episcopal Cathedral in Havana.

We returned to Matanzas to visit the barrio of Limonar and helped bring clean drinking water to the some of the poorest communities in the area. Our project was by invitation of the Episcopal Bishop Griselda. We installed (3) water filter systems to clean and purify drinking water at a chilcare facility, a nursing home and a church in Havana. The 4th system was delivered to the Episcopal cathedral in Havana for installation after the renovations are completed later this year. These community centers provide care for the most vulnerable citizens and dispense drinking water to needy members of the community. The systems include a 5 micron filter, a sub- micron filter, a UV light water purifier and replacement bulb and filter cartridges for one year. Each of these systems can output 10 gallons of potable drinking water per minute. !GRACIAS A DIOS! Through a generous donation from St Davids Church in Wayne, PA and special pricing for materials from Atlantic Filters in West Palm Beach FL, we were fully funded and prepared for this project. We plan on returning to Cuba in February 2019 to partner with a group from PA. We will revisit our locations to inspect the systems and check on the maintenance and we will install a few more new systems. Please consider making a donation towards this continuing effort so we may expand our efforts helping to bring clean drinking water to the most remote locations and people in need. All donations are 100% directly applied to the cost of materials for this project.

We had a team of 11 colunteers who traveled with our two CDWT team members to help install the water filter systems and to share the experience of seeing one of our clean drinking water projects up close in person. For people living in South Florida Cuba is a destination that is mysterious and interesting. The mix of Spanish colonization history, cold war era conflicts, political revolution and economic blockades is not widely understood and to have a chance to meet the people in person is an opportunity we wanted to share. Our team members brought home an experience they will share with their family and friends and to bring more understanding and compassion for our close neighbors in the Caribbean.

We departed from Miami (MIA), FL May 25, 2018 for Varadero, Cuba (VRA) on American Airlines. Varadero is on the northern coast of Cuba near Matanzas. The flight from Miami was only one hour long. We were picked up by a bus, checked into our hotel and then a bus took us on a one hour trip to Limonar where we immediately began working on the first water filter project. We traveled under religious visas by invitation of Rt. Rev. Griselda Delgado del Carpio. The religious visas allow us to visit and work in churches where we installed the drinking water filters. Churches offer the best opportunity to install a system that are accessible by the community and where we have assurance it will be maintained. In Havana we visited the Luyano barrio, one of the poorest regions. We tested the water at each location and we tested the water in the hotels where we staid.
Read our daily blog which details our travels, our work and how we helped bring clean drinking water to the people in Cuba.

PROJECT DETAILS AND LOCATIONS

1)Limonar - San Felipe Diacono (nursing home)
2)Limonar - Guardia de Ninos (daycare)
3)Luyano - Church of the Resurrection
4)Havana - Central Diocesano Episcopal Cathedral, Vedado Plaza


WATER FILTER SYSTEMS
Our goal was to install (4) four water filter systems that could operate for 12 months. We included supplies for 12 months of filter changes and a replacement UV bulb for the purifier. The systems can be expanded by swapping out components after the communities get experience maintaining the "starter system". The systems will now provide up to 1,000 gallons of water per day. We also trained local people how to test the water, install and maintain the systems in hopes that we will develop a network of water keepers.
10 inch - 5 micron pre-filter, 10 inch - sub-micron filter, VIQUA D4 UV light disinfection system.

Water test kits from Aldon Chemical (coliform, TDS, ph, Alkalinity, iron, copper, lead, nitrate, nitrite, hardness, free chlorine

Large full scale systems, such as the LivingWaterTreatmentSystem by WaterMission.org, could eventually be delivered to replace the system to provide up to 10,000 gallons of treated water per day. LWTS


Limonar Photos

Pagina En Español

En Mayo del 2018 visitaremos Cuba por segunda vez este año. Este viaje finalizaría el trabajo iniciado en Febrero cuando instalamos un sistema de filtración de agua temporal en el barrio Luyano, Havana. Volveremos a Matanzas para visitar el barrio Limonar y ayudar a traer agua potable a algunas de las comunidades mas pobres en el área. Hemos invitado 12 personas a viajar con dos miembros del grupo, CDWT para colaborar y clausurar uno de nuestros proyectos de agua potable personalmente. Para las personas viviendo en el Sur de Florida, Cuba es un lugar misterioso e interesante. La mezcla de historia colonial Española, las épocas de guerra, la revolución política, y el bloqueo económico no es totalmente entendible, pero tener la oportunidad de conocer las personas es una experiencia que queremos compartir. Esperamos estas personas traigan su experiencia a familiares y amigos locales para lograr mas entendimiento y compasión por nuestros vecinos cercanos en el Caribe. Viajamos Mayo 25 del 2018 de Miami (MIA), FL a Varadero (VAR), cerca de la costa en la area de Matanzas, Cuba en la aerolínea American Airlines. El viaje es solo una hora. Un bus pasara por nosotros, nos registramos en el hotel e inmediatamente comenzamos a trabajar en nuestro primer proyecto de filtración de aguas en Matanzas, a una hora en la montaña. Viajaremos con visa religiosa por invitación (Rt. Rev.??) de Griselda Delgado del Caprio. Esta visa nos permite visitar y trabajar en iglesias donde instalaremos filtros de agua potable. Las iglesias ofrecen la mejor oportunidad para instalar un sistema que tendrá acceso a la comunidad y será mantenido. En Havana visitaremos el barrio Luyano, una de las zonas más pobres, y en algunas comunidades sobre el camino haremos varias paradas para evaluar el agua y remplazar filtros de agua.

PROJECT MAP


Google Map(kmz)

BING MAP LINK

OUR CDWT WATER FILTER SYSTEM

EXISTING MODEL FILTER SYSTEM