Clean Water Non-Profit Teams With Dole Corporation And BANASA To Provide Clean Water For Rural Guatemala Residents

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Nov 20, 2013, 11:05 ET

SEATTLE, Nov. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanks to a collaboration between Dole Corporation, BANASA (a large Guatemalan banana producer), and an international clean water organization based in Seattle, poor communities in rural Guatemala are receiving water purification filters in their homes.

Eric J. Harrison, President of the Seattle based international nonprofit, Water and Sanitation Health (WASH), (url: www.waterandsanitationhealth.com), recently returned from Guatemala with news that newly produced water filters have already been installed in one of six targeted communities. Harrison also said that community education programs regarding clean water, health and hygiene are scheduled to begin after the first of the year.

Dole met with WASH and BANASA executives last Fall to discuss the impact of contaminated water reaching ground wells in the communities. Shortly thereafter, the clean water and community health plan was created.

"Dole's support will provide about 4500 people in six Guatemala communities with clean, drinkable water in their homes," Harrison states. Over the next 5 years, affected families will receive a new water filter every 18 months. The ceramic water purifier is sustainably produced in Guatemala from local raw materials, and then installed into local homes. The filters provide 2 liters of purified water per hour.

In addition to providing the water purifiers, Dole and BANASA have taken additional steps to improve water quality in the area, including construction of a new water tank (water tower), allowing water to be pumped directly into homes and through the filters for safe use.

"We will continue to focus the issues of clean, drinkable water and locally based education regarding water, sanitation and hygiene," states Harrison. "It is remarkable what can happen when corporate and environmental organizations work together to overcome challenges. In this case, the challenge of providing clean water was solved because of a corporate desire to assist. WASH commends both Dole Corporation and BANASA in their Guatemalan efforts."

Water and Sanitation Health is a 501c3 non-profit that was founded in 2006 by a Washington group spearheaded by Harrison. WASH works with communities internationally to promote clean water, health, hygiene, and good sanitation practices, and builds water/sanitation systems in remote areas of the world.

www.waterandsanitationhealth.com

SOURCE WASH