Peru: Clean Water

SQ Foundation supports House of the Children (HOTC), a non-profit organization whose mission honors global cultures by providing sustainable water, sanitation, health and education programs that raise the quality of life of children and adults in specific context to their cultural and environmental needs.

With funding from SQ Foundation, HOTC is providing resources for the people located in the Manu Rain Forest in the southeastern Peruvian Amazon. The initial 5-year health project began in the native community of Saint Rose of Huacaria. Today, Huacaria is the first indigenous community in the region to have equal access to safe drinking water, utility sinks with underground drains, bathrooms with an eco-friendly septic system at the village schoolhouse, children and families educated in daily health practices, and secondary and university level educational scholarships for village youth.

There is a technically trained village water committee that maintains and repairs water and sanitation systems and does successful outreach to other indigenous communities in Manu. HOTC provides integral programming in direct partnership with the community and local health and education ministries, and continues to significantly improve health conditions among the children and people.

UPDATE! After 17 months of development, on August 24, 2009 HOTC officially broke ground in Tayakome. This is the first time in the history of the Manu Park, established in 1973, that indigenous people in the protected zone, are empowered by sustainable health infrastructure, clean water, sanitation and health education.

With continued support from SQ Foundation, HOTC can replicate health programming in 6 indigenous communities in the Manu Rain Forest and Camisea River region.