In the Amazon
Title:Supporting communities along one of the world’s longest rivers
Subtitle:
Water World
Title:Amazon River
Subtitle:
Winding its way through the top of South America, the Amazon River is well-known for its incredible length (4,225 miles) and its importance to biodiversity and natural resources. 20% of the world’s fresh water comes from this impressive river, and its banks and waters are home to countless animal and fish species. Local and Indigenous communities rely on the river as a daily source of food, water, income, and transportation.
Unfortunately, the world, and the people living along the Amazon River basin, are at risk of losing this vital resource as the river succumbs to the effects of climate change and deforestation. If the Amazon were to dry up, the impact on the water cycle would be felt worldwide.
Swarovski Waterschool Brazil
Since 2016, Swarovski Waterschool Brazil has been working to transform and protect the Amazon River and its riverine communities. During the first two years, the project designed and tested an educational methodology to change the attitudes and practices of proper water treatment along the river. This included 45 different experiential activities focused on the themes of hygiene, hydration, sanitation, and water consumption and pollution.
The project currently works with 28 rural communities, which are home to around 3,715 people. Within these communities, the Swarovski Waterschool is involved with 20 different schools. Each community is located by a river or a lake and can only be accessed by boat. In many of these communities, it is common to drink water directly from the river. If the water is not treated properly, this can lead to dangerous diseases.
At the start of the program, 14 of the schools had no access to running or stored water; 16 lacked handwashing structures; 13 had no toilets; and six were without a school building. To tackle these challenges, the project began by either improving or building anew the infrastructure of these schools. This included building bathrooms, creating a filtering system that used rainwater collection and pumps, and renovating the schools’ water systems. In nearly all cases, the improvements to the school benefited the surrounding village as well, as community members adopted the same water treatment practices in their own homes.
Currently, the project has trained 454 teachers in the Amazonas state. The long-term goal is to promote a large swathe of water-wise communities that implement sustainable water management practices that will improve the health and livelihood of the riverine communities, as well as the vitality of the Amazon River.
Unfortunately, the world, and the people living along the Amazon River basin, are at risk of losing this vital resource as the river succumbs to the effects of climate change and deforestation. If the Amazon were to dry up, the impact on the water cycle would be felt worldwide.
Swarovski Waterschool Brazil
Since 2016, Swarovski Waterschool Brazil has been working to transform and protect the Amazon River and its riverine communities. During the first two years, the project designed and tested an educational methodology to change the attitudes and practices of proper water treatment along the river. This included 45 different experiential activities focused on the themes of hygiene, hydration, sanitation, and water consumption and pollution.
The project currently works with 28 rural communities, which are home to around 3,715 people. Within these communities, the Swarovski Waterschool is involved with 20 different schools. Each community is located by a river or a lake and can only be accessed by boat. In many of these communities, it is common to drink water directly from the river. If the water is not treated properly, this can lead to dangerous diseases.
At the start of the program, 14 of the schools had no access to running or stored water; 16 lacked handwashing structures; 13 had no toilets; and six were without a school building. To tackle these challenges, the project began by either improving or building anew the infrastructure of these schools. This included building bathrooms, creating a filtering system that used rainwater collection and pumps, and renovating the schools’ water systems. In nearly all cases, the improvements to the school benefited the surrounding village as well, as community members adopted the same water treatment practices in their own homes.
Currently, the project has trained 454 teachers in the Amazonas state. The long-term goal is to promote a large swathe of water-wise communities that implement sustainable water management practices that will improve the health and livelihood of the riverine communities, as well as the vitality of the Amazon River.
Some schools in Amazonas state received their first-ever bathrooms and handwashing stations.
Title:
São Raimundo – from zero to drinkable water
Title:
Sometimes, there is no existing solution that fits the local reality, so the Swarovski Waterschool has to develop it. In São Raimundo, the first solution needed was in regard to water collection and distribution.
Up until November 2020, the Indigenous community of São Raimundo sourced their water directly from the lake, carried in buckets up and down steep dirt paths by women and children. Not only was this a laborious task, it also created a gender imbalance.
Inspired by the ideas of the community’s chief, the Swarovski Waterschool installed water taps in each house to alleviate this challenge. However, these taps then faced a new problem: the pump for the taps relied on diesel fuel, which was expensive for the community to maintain. Furthermore, the water was still being consumed without proper treatment.
The following year, the project combined efforts with a group of engineers to develop a system that used solar energy to pump, filter, and purify the water to make it drinkable.
Up until November 2020, the Indigenous community of São Raimundo sourced their water directly from the lake, carried in buckets up and down steep dirt paths by women and children. Not only was this a laborious task, it also created a gender imbalance.
Inspired by the ideas of the community’s chief, the Swarovski Waterschool installed water taps in each house to alleviate this challenge. However, these taps then faced a new problem: the pump for the taps relied on diesel fuel, which was expensive for the community to maintain. Furthermore, the water was still being consumed without proper treatment.
The following year, the project combined efforts with a group of engineers to develop a system that used solar energy to pump, filter, and purify the water to make it drinkable.
Udeleženci uživajo vodo, pridobljeno s sistemom za obdelavo vode na sončno energijo.
Title:
Skupnost Uixi – priložnosti za mlajše generacije
Title:
V teh državah so mladi iz skupnosti Uixi še posebej ranljivi zaradi pomanjkanja možnosti za zaposlitev na lokalni ravni. Številni mladi so se prisiljeni zaradi študija ali iskanja zaposlitve preseliti daleč stran v bolj urbane predele.
Leta 2018 so v okviru projekta Waterschool družbe Swarovski svoja prizadevanja usmerjali v krepitev vodstvenih sposobnosti med mladimi iz skupnosti Uixi in pobude, ki jih poudarjajo mladinske skupine. Mladinski voditelji so po udeležbi v programih usposabljanja Waterschool družbe Swarovski oblikovali delovne skupine, ki so poudarjale pobude za vodo v okviru svojih skupnosti in vpeljale izobraževanje o vodah v okoliška območja.
»Poučili smo jih o smeteh in vodi in ob vsakem novem obisku smo lahko videli, da so naučeno prenašali v prakso. Zgradili so smetišče, zaradi česar je skupnost postala čistejša.«
– Jorlaine, članica/voditeljica mladinske skupine skupnosti Uixi
Leta 2018 so v okviru projekta Waterschool družbe Swarovski svoja prizadevanja usmerjali v krepitev vodstvenih sposobnosti med mladimi iz skupnosti Uixi in pobude, ki jih poudarjajo mladinske skupine. Mladinski voditelji so po udeležbi v programih usposabljanja Waterschool družbe Swarovski oblikovali delovne skupine, ki so poudarjale pobude za vodo v okviru svojih skupnosti in vpeljale izobraževanje o vodah v okoliška območja.
»Poučili smo jih o smeteh in vodi in ob vsakem novem obisku smo lahko videli, da so naučeno prenašali v prakso. Zgradili so smetišče, zaradi česar je skupnost postala čistejša.«
– Jorlaine, članica/voditeljica mladinske skupine skupnosti Uixi
V programih za vodstvo mladih Uixi učijo o pomenu obdelave in trajnostne rabe vode.
Title:
Eliana da Silva – ko učenec postane učitelj
Title:
Eliana da Silva sodeluje pri projektu Waterschool družbe Swarovski v Braziliji že od samega začetka. Kot učenka je sodelovala na delavnicah v svoji šoli in na usposabljanjih za vodenje mladih, kjer je pomagala pri usklajevanju mladinskih skupnosti v svoji skupnosti. Leta 2021 je s šestimi člani mladinske skupnosti približala pobudo izobraževanja o vodi in ravnanja z odpadki trem skupnostim v porečju reke Amazonke.
Izkušnje s projektom Swarovski Waterschool so da Silvo navdihnile, da je postala učiteljica. Postala je prva oseba v svoji skupnosti, ki kot učiteljica dela v lokalni šoli.
»S projektom sem pridobila edinstvene izkušnje, in ne samo jaz, temveč tudi vsi, ki so v njem sodelovali. Tega ne bomo nikoli pozabili. Projekt mi je pomagal odkriti življenjsko poslanstvo – biti učiteljica.«
– Eliana da Silva
Preberite več o prizadevanjih družbe Swarovski.
Obiščite program Waterschool družbe Swarovski.
Izkušnje s projektom Swarovski Waterschool so da Silvo navdihnile, da je postala učiteljica. Postala je prva oseba v svoji skupnosti, ki kot učiteljica dela v lokalni šoli.
»S projektom sem pridobila edinstvene izkušnje, in ne samo jaz, temveč tudi vsi, ki so v njem sodelovali. Tega ne bomo nikoli pozabili. Projekt mi je pomagal odkriti življenjsko poslanstvo – biti učiteljica.«
– Eliana da Silva
Preberite več o prizadevanjih družbe Swarovski.
Obiščite program Waterschool družbe Swarovski.
Eliana da Silva deli strokovno znanje in izkušnje s člani skupnosti.
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