Bolivian Blue School Report

We are delighted that the Bolivian Blue School and health post we established in collaboration with Sumaj Punchay has now been operational for over six months. Sumaj Punchay means 'towards better days’ in the Quechua language. This NGO has a holistic approach to development. They approached our NGO as IRHA’s Blue School model fulfills their own development targets of education, disease prevention, securing food sovereignty and managing natural resources. The school and associated health center, for which we have provided a rain-harvested drinking water supply, is located in the Trapiche Bajo community, Betanzos, within the Potosi department. This project benefits 173 schoolchildren, who now have access to drinking water and new toilet facilities (previously, there were only six toilets for the school). Grey water from the sinks is used to irrigate crops planted in traditional, underground Bolivian greenhouses called Walipani and in outdoor garden plots. Sumaj Punchay initially conceived this project as a pilot scheme, which they hoped to scale-up. Their long-term objective is to harvest, store and distribute rainwater at other primary and secondary schools in the region. They have already constructed a further rainwater reservoir within the community of Chilcani. Please reach out to us, if you wish to support Sumaj Punchay and IRHA provide similar facilities within a further three communities in the Betanzos District.