Teach Them How to Fish (Part II)

(If you haven’t done so already, you might want to read Part I first.)

There is electrical work as well – the ultraviolet lamp must be fitted to the sheet metal and the necessary soldering done to make the unit work.  The UV lamp draws very little power (about 8 watts), so complicated and expensive electrical parts are not needed.

Of course, once the entire unit is assembled, you have be sure it works. The three learners watched each other to be sure everyone followed all the steps exactly – they wanted to be sure their own units work perfectly back home.  Water was put in the top container, then the UV unit was plugged in and the flow checked.  A small leak was spotted and fixed quickly with plumber’s tape.

The whole process revolves around testing water – testing at the source to see if it is good water or bad water, and testing it after running bad water through the system to be sure it is drinkable.  Small inexpensive kits are available – a snip of the scissors opens the small container of testing material which is then poured into a small plastic bag.  Water is added and it is easy to see if there are dangerous microbes in the water.  After 48 hours, if the tested water is black and stinks, it is bad and needs to be treated.  If it is clear, your UV system is doing its job.

Three days – three days spent spreading knowledge that will hopefully lead to a better life for more people of Vietnam.

Comments

[Ivan Ellis]

This is really how it went. Thanks for the great work sharing with our friends what we are doing.