What We Do
In rural areas of Eastern Bolivia, our current service area, most families live without adequate water, sanitation, or access to health care.
Studies show that providing safe water and proper sanitation facilities can reduce deaths from diarrhea and water-related illnesses by 65%, and improve overall childhood mortality by 55% (2014, UNICEF in Bolivia, UNICEF). In 2020, a study from the WHO shows that 54% of deaths from diarrhea were caused by unsafe drinking water, sanitation, and inadequate personal hygiene in the country.
Through our work, over 180,000 people in Bolivia have benefited from improved health, water, sanitation, and education. 192 community leaders (90% women) have been trained to be Community Health Promoters in 46 villages. 47 villages now have clean water systems and water committees to manage them. And, 743 families in 39 villages now have environmentally sound sanitation systems.
Clean Water
Only 78% of the rural population has access to safe water
We construct water distribution systems specifically designed to meet the needs of the individual village. We plan and work in partnership with communities and local governments to make systems that are appropriate for the technology available in the community. Whether it is a river diversion system or a well, we make sure that everyone in the community gets water to their homes.
Community Health Promoters
Bolivia has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the region, with more than 160 reported maternal deaths per 100,000 live births due to the lack of access to trained healthcare
By training village women to become certified Community Health Promoters, healthcare becomes local and accessible. They serve people from their own communities, providing basic, preventive, and emergency medical care. In addition to learning such skills as suturing wounds and childbirth, their training also includes prevention and treatment of malnutrition, AIDS, kidney disease, diabetes, reproductive health, hypertension prevention, COVID-19, and other endemic diseases.
Most recently, our Community Health Promoters are continuing their education with generations-old Medicinal Plant classes taught by Dr. Simón Beltrán who is double-trained in both Western and natural medicine. Peer learning is also a cornerstone of these classes, which take place at out Community Transformation Center “Tekoatí”.
Composting Toilets
47% of the population live without safe sanitation in Bolivia
We construct and train communities in the use of Dry Ecological Composting Latrines, replacing shallow pit latrines and open defecation. Program goals include improving hygiene habits involving excreta disposal through hygienic latrines, hand-washing, and safe water practices. Education is core to Etta Projects. In order for communities to receive a project, they have to participate in a cycle of ten hygiene workshops. Combining infrastructure and education can reduce water-related illnesses such as intestinal parasites, diarrhea, dengue, and scabies.
In our young Women’s Empowerment Program, we partner with local health networks, Municipal Councils, and 36 public schools, to offer trainings in response to requests for sexual health education. Specifically, this program targets rural communities heavily impacted by unwanted pregnancies. Expanding on the information we learned from participants, we also trained groups of parents.
This program aims to increase school graduation rates for young women eager to complete their education rather than face motherhood at a young age.
Expanding from within public school classrooms, we also host smaller groups of young women retreats at our Community Transformation Center, where we offer trainings in recognizing general-based violence behaviors, self-defense, mental health, nurturing self-confidence, and tools for building healthy relationships. We also provide free menstrual kits to participants.
This holistic program has been widely well received, as it addresses increasing rates of gender violence, especially in small rural communities where there are limited life choice options for young women.
Womens’ Empowerment & Sexual Health
HIV Prevention and HIV+ patients support
The city of Montero is the capital of the Santistevan Region, with a population of over 135,000 people. It is the second city, after Santa Cruz, for incidences of HIV and STDs. This program of Etta Projects is led from our office in Montero. This project is education-based and targets high-risk populations – that is, people living with HIV, the LGBTQ community, sex workers, mothers who are HIV+, and high school students. We partner with both healthcare and education systems to educate the population about the spread of HIV and STDs. As part of our full-circle approach, our medical doctor on staff gives training on best practices for those attending to patients living with HIV, as well as on how to identify STDs.
We have already implemented three of projects in three different towns of the province. In 2025, we are going to implement another project in Montero, which, among other cutting-edge methodologies, will train HIV+ people to be peer mentors and support other patients who are struggling with their condition and adherence to treatment.
This project, as well as the past ones, is supported by grant funding from Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Our Greatest Impact: Our Programs In Tandem
Isama is a small and charming village in Buena Vista, sitting beneath the slopes of the National Park Amboró. Etta Projects' first project in Isama was a sanitation program. We began our work, and thanks to the workshops and the new bond created, they started to see the connection between clean water, sanitation, and health. They then asked for additional training, and we implemented our Community Health Promoters program to provide the 40 families living there with basic healthcare.
Once we worked with this village on clean water with a trained Water Committee, Health Promoters with a health kit of badly needed medicines, and a viable sanitation system, we were deeply connected -- most especially with the women community leaders we helped to empower through serving as Community Health Promoters and Water Committee Presidents.
An overaching priority of Etta Projects is listening to the ongoing needs of those we serve. From this lens, in 2021, we responded to requests for expanding our support by offering sexual health education. Since then, we have provided sexual health education to 7990 students in 36 schools, and are still expanding.
We are currently serving 10 municipalities of indigenous villages. Two municipalities benefit from 5 of our programs, and 5 municipalities benefit from 3 of our 5 programs. Our goal is to support all 10 municipalities with all our programs!
