FANCASA is the Federation of Water Associations in Central Americ a and the Caribbean. FANCASA is a consortium of grass-roots organizations working specifically on finding solutions to water and sanitation problems in rural communities. Organizations affiliated with FANCASA include the Honduran Association of Board Water Systems (AHJASA), El Salvador Association of Water Systems (ASSA), El Porvenir from Nicaragua, Agua del Pueblo from Guatemala, and REDAR from the Dominican Republic.
The El Salvador Association of Water Systems (ASSA) is responsible for the implementation of the Circuit Rider Program in El Salvador. ASSA has organized more than 120 grassroots t raining sessions and is currently providing technical assistance to 40 water systems benefiting 40,000 people in El Salvador. ASSA was instrumental in the recent creation of FANCASA, the Federation of Water Associations in Central America and the Caribbean.
The Honduran Association of Board Water Systems (AHJASA) oversees the Circuit Rider program in over 650 rural Honduran communities benefiting more than half a million inhabitants. AHJASA has built a training center in Nacaome, organized 8 national conferences, installed 500 manual pumps and established 8 chlorine banks across Honduras. In addition AHJASA has partnered with various international organizations such as CARE International, the International Rural Water Association (IRWA) and the Ireland Catholic Agency for Development (TROCAIRE) and is now a member of the Water Council Group in Honduras.
El Porvenir is a non-profit organization in Nicaragua whose mission is to i mprove the standard of living of poor people in Nicaragua through sustainable self-help water, sanitation and reforestation projects. El Porvenir supports more than 90 community-initiated projects per year in six regions of the country. These projects utilize simple technologies and locally available materials that can be repaired and maintained by the community.
The Red Dominicana de Acueductos Rurales (REDAR) is the Rural Water Association in the Dominican Republic. REDAR represents a group of rural, non-governmental org anizations that mobilize human and other resources to solve the problem of unsafe water in the country.
Arch Chemicals (Norwalk, Connecticut): Arch Chemicals provides the Clean Water Initiative with the appropriate and affordable water and sanitation technology used in the rural communities where we work. Arch Chemicals also provides financial suppo rt, technical assistance and training to water technicians. Arch Chemicals' expertise with disinfection products has helped the CWI provide technical expertise to water system managers in Central America, resulting in clean and water for more than 700,000 rural residents in 700 communities.
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health (Baltimore, Maryland):
Johns Hopkins helped CWI by design ing a preliminary assessment on the effectiveness of the Honduran Circuit Rider Program. Dr. Bradley Sack, professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at John Hopkins, developed a similar assessment published in the September 2005 issue of the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition. He is the author of more than 400 publications on gastrointestinal illnesses and has overseen long term research projects in Peru, Bangladesh and other countries.
PPG, Industries (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania): In early 2008, CWI received a donation from PPG Industries for 25,000 lbs of chlorine tablets for the Chlorine Bank Program. This has provided reliable water to five hundred impoverished rural communities affiliated with our Circuit Rider Program in Honduras. The chlorine tablets have been distributed through AHJASA, our long time in-country partner. In 2009, PPG, Inc. made a second donation of 20,000 lbs. of chlorine tablets. This new donation, valued at $25,000, is supporting the Chlorine Program in El Salvador. This allows it to provide safe, reliable water to 65,000 people in 70 rural communities.
NORWECO (Norwalk, Ohio): NORWECO is the manufacturing company that developed the chlorine tablet feeder used extensively in Honduras and El Salvador. These gravity fed devices provide a chemical dose that disinfects and produces potable water. They are easy to install and operate and can also be used for wastewater treatment.