STA Travel raised $10,000 toward purchasing ten water tanks installed in ten indigenous schools. Each tank serves approximately 80 schoolchildren and 290 villagers. In the same short seven month time period, STA Travel raised $15,000 to purchase a 25-foot motorboat, which now transports supplies to the islands as well as serves as an ambulance for critically ill or injured people to a mainland hospital. This is the first service of its kind for the 20,000 indigenous people that live in the Bocas del Toro archipelago and remote peninsula that make up this province.
Health and economic development starts with safe drinking water. Planeterra works with Operation Safe Drinking Water to install rain-catchment systems to collect water for schools and communities. These systems are particularly effective given their easy installation, maintenance and the high amount of rain on the islands. To ensure sustainability, the project also teaches community leaders, teachers and principals the importance of safe water and simple tank maintenance.
More InformationMany indigenous villages and schools in Bocas del Toro do not have access to safe drinking water. Polluted water can lead to intestinal worms in humans, which cause anemia, chronic dysentery and malnutrition, all factors contributing to a high rate of absenteeism in schools. Children fall behind in their studies and often give up, perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty among the indigenous people. Men and women become ill and cannot keep up with the demands at work and in the home. Medical treatment, when available, is ineffective if patients continue to drink contaminated water. The entire community is negatively impacted by the lack of safe drinking water.
