Aral Region Water Filtration

In late March, I joined a team of local environmental engineers and organizers on a project to support access to clean water in the Aral Region of western Uzbekistan.

Overview

The following table describes the activities conducted at each of the 4 schools we visited:

School Site	Lessons	Student Projects	Water Survey	Filter Installation
Kegeyli 12-mektep	✔	✔	✔	✔
Kegeyli 41-mektep	✔	✔	✔
Muynoq 1-mektep	✔			(Previously installed)
Qonliqol 7-mektep	✔			✔

In total, we worked with 131 students across 4 schools and provided clean drinking water to over 2,500 members of the schools’ respective communities.

Student Works

At the beginning of the program, we asked the students what ecological issues they faced in their community and what projects they would pursue if there were no resource limits. They designed all sorts of recycling systems, bird hunting bans, solar powered air filters.

After a week of lessons, we asked them again to brainstorm what sorts of projects they would pursue themselves if they had $250. Of the 8 project ideas suggested during the student brainstorming session, we gave the students the opportunity to vote for their projects.

3 projects were selected at each school and teams of 10-15 were formed. Each team had a budget of $250. During the weekend, the organizers traveled to Nukus to procure and transport the requested materials. The following photo journal captures their projects and work: