First General Meeting Handout09

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Global Water Brigades @ Berkeley

Honduras:

Honduras

República de Honduras

is a democratic republicinCentral America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate itfrom

British Honduras

(nowBelize).

The country is bordered to the west byGuatemala, to the southwest byEl Salvador, to the southeast byNicaragua, to the south by thePacific Oceanat theGulf of Fonseca, and to the north by theGulf of Honduras, a large inlet of theCaribbean Sea.

Economy:

The economy has continued to grow slowly but the distribution of wealthremains very polarized with average wages remaining low. Economic growth in thelast few years has averaged 7% a year which has been one of the most successfulgrowths in Latin America, but 50%, approximately 3.7 million, of the population stillremain below the poverty line.

It is estimated that there are more than 1.2 millionpeople who areunemployed, the rate of unemployment standing at 27.9%.Honduras was declared one of theHeavily Indebted Poor Countriesby theWorld Bankand theInternational Monetary Fundwhich made it eligible fordebt relief in 2005.

Both the electricity services (ENEE) and land-line telephone services(HONDUTEL) have been operated by government agencies, with ENEEreceiving heavy subsidies because of chronic financial problems. HONDUTEL,however, is no longer a monopoly, the telecommunication sector havingbeen opened to private-sector companies afterDecember 25,2005; this was one of the requirements before approving the beginning of CAFTA. There areprice controls onpetrol, and other temporary price controls for basiccommodities are often passed for short periods by theCongress.After years of declining against the U.S. dollar theLempirahas stabilized ataround 19 Lempiras per dollar. In June 2008 the exchange rate betweenUnited States Dollars and Honduran Lempiras was approximately 1 to 18.85.

Water Supply and Sanitation:

Water supply and sanitation in Honduras varies greatly from urban centers to rural villages. Larger population centersgenerally have modernized water treatment and distribution systems,however water quality is often poor due to lack of proper maintenance andtreatment. Rural areas generally have basic drinking water systems withlimited capacity for water treatment. Many urban areas have sewer systemsin place for the collection of wastewater, however proper treatment of wastewater is scarce. In rural areas, sanitary facilities are generally limited tolatrines and basic septic pits.Water and sanitation services were historically provided by ServicioAutonomo de Alcantarillas y Aqueductos (SANAA). In 2003, a new "water

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law" was passed which called for the decentralization of water services. Withthe 2003 law, local communities have the right and responsibility to own,operate, and control their own drinking water and wastewater systems. Sincepassage of the new law, many communities have joined together to addresswater and sanitation issues on a regional basis.Many national and international non-government organizations have ahistory of working on water and sanitation projects in Honduras. Internationalgroups include, but are not limited to, theRed Cross,Rotary Club,Catholic Relief Services,Water for People,CARE,CESO-SACOandSHH. In addition, many government organizations working on projects include: theEuropean Union,USAID, theArmy Corps of Engineers,Cooperacion Andalucia, thegovernment of Japan, and many others. Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honduras

To read more

about drinking water in developing countries, here is a link toan article by

Dr.

Ashok Gadgil, a UC Berkeley senior scientist at LBNL:

http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.energy.23.1.253

You should be able to access if you are connected via UC Berkeley.

Vaccinations:

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Typhoid Tetanusmalariahepatitis A and B You will need to check with your physician about the timing of your vaccinesand check your medical record to see which vaccines you require. (some of you may already have tetanus or hep A). Remember to get vaccinatedsooner rather than later as some shots, such as hep A require twovaccinationsa couple of months apart. If you go to the Tang Center, andschedule an appointment stating that you will be traveling abroad toHonduras, they will make it easy for you by preparing a list of vaccinationsyou will need for the country.

AIR DEPOSIT: A NON-REFUNDABLE $150.00 per person deposit

is requiredto secure your place in your Brigade and to begin the air reservations process. If a traveler cancels his/her trip, the deposit

will not

be refunded.

DUE:FEBRUARY 16TH

If your air reservations are purchased outside of APF Travel, Inc., please add$100.00 to the price of your in-country costs. The rest of our airline payment will be due:

MARCH 16TH

Traveler’s Insurance:

medical attention and medical evacuation while ontheir brigade. APF Travel will handle the arrangements for this policy based onyour brigade name list. Travel insurance is over and above the price of the airticket.

PRICE:

$35.00 per person

Coverage:

$25,000.00 Emergency Medical/Dental Coverage$100,000.00 Emergency Medical Transportation24-hour Hotline AssistanceIf coverage is declined, traveler

must

sign and return the Travel InsuranceWaiver form before APF Travel releases air tickets.

PASSPORTS AND VISAS: IMPORTANT!!

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