From our first community involvement over thirty years ago, Shoulder to Shoulder has been active in providing clean drinking water and education to rural Honduras.
Local water supply originates from clean mountain springs that surround communities. However, by the time water reaches a home more than half of it has been lost due to poor infrastructure. (See picture to the right for a volunteer's water schema) This allows contaminated surface water and bacterial viruses to enter the supply.
In 2023, one of our volunteers, Nava, an MPH medical student, returned to help us test the waters in community water tanks, schools and communities. He found that 90% of water sources were contaminated for drinking.
There is a desperate need for clean drinking water in Intibuca, Honduras. We are teaching families that by putting two drops of bleach in a liter of water, the water will be safe to drink. We provide the bucket, the dropper, and the education -- the families then can have purified water to drink.
Shoulder to Shoulder’s nutrition program, “Hens Hatching Hope: Un Huevo Cada Dia” has been going very well for the past four years. However, local doctors have been reporting more and more cases of diarrhea in babies and young children -- the presumption being that the dirty water they are drinking is causing their health issues.
Access to clean water is an essential component of a healthy community.
We engaged in a clean water pilot project in March 2025, in which we trained 30 mothers on how to purify their drinking water by adding 2 drops of bleach into 1 liter of water. Wait 30 minutes, and the water is purified and does NOT taste of bleach.
Four months later, we interviewed these same mothers. 99% of them said that they were still purifying their water using the bleach formula, and they felt that the health of their babies and young children had improved.
We have continued our expansion: In October 2025, we added 500 families in Colonmoncagua. In July 2026, we added 500 families in San Marcos de la Sierra.
They received:
— Teaching about the formula of two drops of bleach per liter of water
— A laminated sheet for the families to take home which shows the ratio of water to bleach
— A 25 liter plastic bucket with a spout and cover.
— A dropper to measure the bleach
We are hopeful that our intervention will lead to improved health outcomes for the babies and children in our area. Shoulder to Shoulder will provide the buckets and droppers — the community health promoters will provide the teaching to the families.
Read About the Power of Two Drops.
How Can YOU Help?
Drinking contaminated water results in enormous health implications, especially for the most vulnerable members of our population – children, the elderly, and the sick. Diarrhea remains the number one cause of death in children between ages 2 and 5, which can be largely avoided by using clean water for drinking and cooking in the homes. Clean water not only prevents children’s deaths but also prevents prolonged and repeated sicknesses, which deprive them of physical and mental development in a crucial age of their development.
A $25 donation buys clean drinking water for a family!
Thank you for your Contribution!
Watch a Water Filter Distribution in Santa Lucia