1. Hello mi name is Afnán Agramont, I work for Engineers In Action, my work consist in install and maintenance the Hand Pumps for the communities in the Chiquitano Forest in Santa Cruz Bolivia and I want to share my experience with you.
2. I travel long distances like 6 hours to be in the chiquitano communities, roads like this one are the best and I enjoy be driving in a beautiful place like this where you can feel the sky the forest and the clean air, sometimes I just stop in middle of the road to take a picture and be sure that I will have something to remember this place where I feel close to god.
3. My arrived to the communities have a automatically effect, the kids just smile to me and don’t talk to much. I feel that the project impact all the family because all of them are drinking save water but affect more to the children because they are more exposed to the gastrointestinal infections and in the chiquitano family manners the children are who goes to bring water to their houses. Think about carries every day the water for all your family and remember that a gallon equal to 2.2 pound, in the Bolivians city use like 32 gallon/person/day in the rural areas almost 5.3 gallon/person /day in a family of 7 (that is usually in the chiquitano families) means 309 pound/day !
4. If we can reduce the half of the distance to bring water will be easier for these little workers and also they will have a several more hours to enjoy be a children if we reduce just 20 minutes/day will mean 122 hours free in one year, 5 more days to be a child!
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6. This picture is in Altamira community, the community installed a hand pump fence with the most precious wood in the area that because they fell the hand pump is something really important and is invaluable. When I talked with the authority of Altamira told me about it was usually that one or two children in each family die and they thought that could be because the child was born wick but could be because they have been drinking water from a reservoir where cows and another animal make feces. All the people work in the process to build the platform and install the hand pumps if they are working in theirs own land they stop work and come to help.
7. Now I will talk more about me, Before start the project y lives all my life in La Paz Bolivia in the Andes region, this is the people who is more important for me: Stefan mynephew Hanna my niece and Daniela my fiancee. The last year I have been taking care of Hanna and Stefan they makes me fell like a father for them. They are who I miss and I think when I see little and naughty children like them and if I can make just a little better the way that the chiquitano children live I fell that the world is changing for them too and for me that is invaluable. My fiancee sent me this picture because I couldn’t be in the first day school for Stefan . I try to call every night to know about them and be sure that everything is right for them.
8. The social projects require very little of us to make a huge change in the way people live in communitiesI am proud to work for Engineers In Action!
