-FIMRC non-profit organization dedicated to improving pediatric and maternal health in the developing world -multidimensional strategy -Clinic sites in 6 countries About the Organization

1. Water Filtration System 2. Healthy Foods Festival 3. Moringa 4. Volunteer Activities 5. Travels Overview

Background: Goal : implement a water purification system at the local school in Las Delicias, in which approximately 700 students attend -Children in the school continue to drink water that is contaminated with amoeba and other parasites, and as a result the clinic has seen a persistent rate of water-borne illnesses affecting the children. -A water storage tank is already in place at the school School Water Filtration System (cont.)

Benefits of the Water Filtration System: The filtration system has the benefit of providing clean water for the community, reducing the rate of water-borne illnesses The clean water available at the school encourages parents to bring their kids to school, improving attendance rates

Sustainability: The primary objective was to develop a high quality, sustainable water project that is also autonomous at the community level. For a project to be truly successful, communities must be viewed and must view themselves as the owners of the project. School Water Filtration System (cont.)

Design: A central water filtration system, which is a point- of-entry water system, does the filtration when the water line enters the school. We chose a hybrid UV filtration system A carbon filter could also be added to improve the taste of the water. While this filter is effective, it must changed every 3 or 4 months, which may prove to be an obligation that the community will forgo due to expenses. The idea that was decided upon utilizes a 1600 liter sand filter, a carbon filter, and an electric UV filter. School Water Filtration System (cont.)

Budget The budget granted to this project is in the vicinity of $ We are also looking for something that will not require too many recurring expenses and that would have an initial cost that would fit within our budget of $ to create the system.

Working together with Community Health Leader, a Healthy Foods Festival took place Friday, July 16 th. Goal: To teach the community about healthy cooking and to spread the word of healthy recipes. The contributors to the festival will have small samples of their dish, as well as note cards with the recipe for the dish that can be given out in order for the community members to replicate the dishes at their homes Healthy Foods Festival Healthy Foods Festival

Planning and Meeting with Local Organizations Healthy Foods Festival (cont.) Healthy Foods Festival (cont.)

Healthy Foods Festival Healthy Foods Festival

Beginning Stages: Healthy Foods Festival (cont.) Healthy Foods Festival (cont.)

Healthy Foods Festival (cont.) -Over 200 residents of Las Delicias attended -Recipes of healthy dishes were handed out to every family -The regional director of health also attended the event, where FIMRC met him for the first time. He is now interested with working with FIMRC in the future

Background: Moringa oleifera is a vegetable tree which is grown in Africa, Central and South America, the Indian subcontinent, and South East Asia. Moringa tree seeds, when crushed into powder, can be used as a water-soluble extract in suspension Currently, FIMRC is planning on working with Engineers without Borders to create a water filtration system that will help the community at large. However, this will take a great deal of time and also involves nearly a $70,000 investment. Moringa

Moringa (cont.) What’s Next? The community has not yet been introduced to Moringa. In addition, the seeds still need to be acquired. However, with the help of the FOM, perhaps one day the community of Las Delicias can have potable water available to them at virtually no cost

Volunteer Activities In addition to these projects, I was also able to participate in a wide range of volunteer activities, such as… Organizing the medicine in the clinic Visiting new born babies and pregnant mothers with a local nurse Inspecting homes to ensure proper living conditions Helping complete a government census of the community Giving vaccinations to children as well as rabies vaccines to dogs Tutoring children and teaching English at a local library Giving health lessons (charlas) to community members Teaching proper hygiene methods to children at the school Translating for other volunteers Delivering individual water filters to homes and providing community members with chemicals to put in their water which can kill the larvae that cause Dengue

Travels I took advantage of the fact that I was free on many weekends by traveling. I was able to experience the rich culture of El Salvador, improve my Spanish, and try many new things.