SAN JUAN DE ORCAS
Picture this scenario. You wake up one morning to get ready for work, but you have no water in the house. No water to brush your teeth, or to wash your face, or to flush the toilet. There’s no water to make coffee or tea, and no way to wash the dishes after breakfast. You can’t take a shower before heading out the door. Now, imagine that every day, for the rest of your life.
That’s the current situation in many locations all throughout central Bolivia. Communities with inconsistent water, especially during the dry season. Even during the wet season, they don’t have a steady water resource due to climate change and growing drought concerns. Young adults are leaving their families because there’s no work opportunity, not much of a future at all.
Pidola’s next project will be in this exact type of location: San Juan de Orcas. This project is to install a solar-powered water pump within the community that allows it’s constituents access to clean and sustained water. Even though many of Pidola’s projects over the last eight years has included internet solutions, the need for water takes priority. So we jumped on the opportunity to help the community to have better access to water, even without an internet component. This may be more important.
Picture another scenario. Imagine if Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Vincent Van Gogh, or Mother Teresa all didn’t make it to the age of 10 due to the lack of healthy drinking water. They all came from poverty-stricken places in the world, and without their impacts, we’d all be worse off. And the next person to positively impact human history may just come from San Juan de Orcas; you never know. Whether it’s at the local, regional, national, or global level, we all need to play our part in fostering the next generation.
We’re looking to raise $12,128 for this next project. Global problems call for global solutions, so that involves all of us! And these concepts and solutions, while being completed in South America, may one day be needed in your neighborhood. Water scarcity is a reality for everyone.
Thank you for your donation!
BOLIVIA CON AGUA
With our key partners Food for the Hungry & Energetica, Pidola is excited to launch a new initiative; Bolivia con Agua (Bolivia with Water)!
The Goal: raise funds to develop solar-powered water systems for remote schoolhouses in Bolivia. Many rural areas don’t have access to clean drinking water, or even enough water to support the community. These raised funds will help develop renewable and sustainable water systems in the states of Potosi and Cochabamba.
Target Locations: (with number of schoolchildren) – Pocosuco (160), Añahuani (505), Copapujio (216), 20 De Octubre (410), Alto Litoral (447), Llave Mayu I, (958), Mamanaca (242).
Mission Alignment: while Pidola is researching and planning development of our 3rd and 4th projects, we’re always willing to support our partners’ efforts that align with our mission. Some of the key aspects that align well with Pidola’s mission include, but are not limited to:
- Solar power from Energetica will generate electricity to ensure water is pumped to a specific location, and that the purification process is completed.
- These new water systems will be in 1 of 8 locations where the local schoolhouses would directly benefit from having a clean and consistent water supply.
REMOTE SOLAR LEARNING KITS
To donate to our Remote Solar Kit Initiative, please click the link HERE.
The Pandemic is limiting access to information and delaying the educational development of children. Families are using candles, lighters, and firewood to meet basic needs. Pidola focuses on solar and internet for rural schools; with in-person classes being canceled, a new solution is required. These solar-powered kits provide information for isolated rural families in poor conditions, with municipal agreements in place to ensure support.
The Ministry of Education is creating a program to provide lessons via radios. Pidola is working with a local solar installer, Energetica, along with the Ministry and local Municipalities to establish a program to provide remote learning kits to 1,000 rural households without electricity. Each kit includes 3 solar-charged lamps with a USB charger and USB-powered radios. Almost half of the cost for the Remote Solar Learning Kits program is covered locally, but they need our help to fund the rest of the kit. That means for only $65, a remote family with school-age kids will have access to classes and information. To learn more, download our PowerPoint presentation here.
The target group is rural families in isolated areas, without electricity and with school-age children. The families have been identified with the help of the respective Municipalities. The campaign began last year and Energetica has met with the communities and families to inform them about the project. The government will announce class schedules via the radio. The program includes user identification, signing of agreements with Municipalities, promotion in communities, and training to use the kits.
The initial communities served with this program are in the Torotoro and Villa Tunari Municipalities. Pidola has been working with Energetica, local teachers, and the families in these communities since 2017. We have installed two solar photovoltaic and battery systems for the school in Pampa Jasi and a government building in Torotoro (see projects below). Energetica developed the remote learning kits and promoted them last year with support from local partners, including the local power company.
Energetica has already identified and met with communities interested in receiving and using these kits. We have an on-the-ground coordinator, Edgar, who will be meeting with the families to deliver the kits and instruct the families how to use them as well as visit them to ensure continued utilization. The Ministry of Education is broadcasting the class schedules over the radios and teachers have been educated on delivering curriculum in this new format. Funds will be delivered to Energetica and used to equip the kits and fund the promotion, delivery, and education for continued usage.
As a supporter, you will receive a photograph and video (where feasible) of the family receiving and using their kit as a thank you for your donation.
PAMPA JASI
We are pleased to announce the launch of our pilot project in Pampa Jasi, Bolivia! This project was launched in November 2017, and now provides cost-efficient solar & internet solutions to this rural and under-served community.
84 school-aged children now have access to internet within their schoolhouse. This not only provides them access to better and more effective educational materials, but also access to healthcare and improved communication to the outside world.
TOROTORO
Our second project was to provide new internet service to the municipality of Torotoro. Previously, the municipal offices were receiving slow, unreliable internet service through their previous provider. With the assistance of Pidola, the new municipal offices in Torotoro now have more effective and efficient internet service via ABE.
