More than 28% of children who attend ASSADE suffer from acute gastrointestinal conditions and one primary cause is water-borne disease.

In ASSADE’s town of San Andrés Itzapa, the water for consumption does not receive any kind of treatment to make it potable. Ecological filters are an excellent solution for treating water in the community’s households. Using ecological filters as well as providing education about the filters to the recipient families has been proven to reduce up to 82% of gastrointestinal diseases in the families served.

Before receiving a water filter system, families must be trained on its use, functionality and maintenance. ASSADE also trains the families on water cycles, water resources, water transmission chain, healthy habits, and preventing gastrointestinal diseases. Education helps with the correct implementation of a system to purify water in homes, and at the same time it gives families skills and knowledge to take responsibility for and improve their own health care.

EcoFiltor Water Filters were an option for donation in the 2017 GoPhil Giving Guide, and following are some of the results of the incredible donations received.

My family uses water every day and when we are going to drink it, I am able to use the filtration system I received from ASSADE to remove the debris in the water. It is difficult to imagine, but sometimes there actually are little animals in our water.  My children used to get sick very often, and I lost my first child to a digestive infection. Before we received our filter, we learned many different things about water and diseases. Now I know that there are many things I can do at home to protect my family from illness. For us, having the filter is a blessing.

– Lesbia, ASSADE Participant

I feel happy to have received and use the water filter provided by ASSADE. We do not have water at home so I need to collect and store the water my family needs. When I do the maintenance on the filter, my children help me and while we work together, I talk them about the importance of water quality and how to avoid getting sick. I have also been able to teach them about the importance of hand-washing to keep our water supply clean. This is a responsibility I am able to share with them and it is something they will be able to teach their children in the future.

– Maria, ASSADE Participant

During my time as a volunteer at ASSADE, I was part of the Prevention Program. I had the chance to deliver the training on ecological water filtration systems to a group of ten women. It was impressive see how they wanted to become involved so that they could take on greater responsibility for the health of their households. I was proud to be a part of something as simple as a water filtration system program and to see the women become empowered to improve their families’ futures.

– Andrea, Former Volunteer at ASSADE

To learn more about the important work at ASSADE and how you can support important healthcare initiatives, please visit: https://gophilanthropic.org/partner-programs/assade