By Thomas Smith
Longtime residents Barry Hart and his wife Heather founded Water Ambassadors in 2002. After visiting Haliburton County as a cottager for decades, Hart and his wife would visit Haliburton County and Kawartha Lakes on road trips regularly. After retiring as a teacher, Hart was attracted to the quaintness and intimacy provided by nature and the landscapes of the Haliburton Highlands. The couple made the decision to move to the county 35 years ago.
Through attending a conference in the United States, Hart learned about well drilling and how simple a solution it was to provide clean drinking water to impoverished areas throughout the world.
His first trip was to Guatemala. In just four days, Hart was able to see the instantaneous difference the drill had on the village. Clean drinking water could be supplied to thousands of people in the surrounding area. After this trip, Hart was inspired to start Water Ambassadors Canada.
Water Ambassadors Canada provides access to lean drinking water through a variety of methods.
The first method, which is also the most expensive, is drilling new wells. Drilling water with new wells is a guessing game, especially if there are no other wells in neighbouring towns.
The second, and most effective method is through repairing pre-existing wells. In Nicaragua alone, Hart has estimated that there are around 70,000 damaged wells in need of repair. Issues such as loose bolts, collapsed tubing, and concrete pad repairs can cause a well to cease its functions.
The third method involves setting up water filtration systems. Typically, this solution is for areas that have a preexisting water source, such as a river. Pumps and a filtration system can be installed to allow residents to filter out the water.
The fourth method is chlorination. Chlorination disinfects the water using chlorine, often in the form of sodium hypochlorite. This kills bacteria, viruses, and pathogens such as dysentery, cholera, and typhoid.
Nowadays, after the COVID-19 pandemic, Hart says that the majority of work that Water Ambassadors Canada does is through “boots on the ground partners” in other countries. After meeting qualified workers and building their trust in communities, Water Ambassadors Canada provides the funding and supplies necessary to support the completion of projects such as chlorination systems, filtration systems, and well repair. Hart says that this method has been highly successful and empowers local workers to support their communities.
Water Ambassadors Canada still actively finds volunteers and trips for people to travel to other countries and support clean drinking water initiatives. Hart says that people are deeply moved from these trips and continue impacting their communities around them even after they return.
On Wednesday, Jan. 8, Hart was invited to present a talk for the fourth season of Yours Outdoors’ Speaker Series held once a month at the Fish Hatchery.
His presentation was titled “Water water everywhere…” and was divided into two segments. The first segment involved a deep dive into everything about water. With his experience as a high school science teacher, Hart felt it was important to discuss the chemistry, physical properties, and the importance that water has in biology. After the coffee break, Hart changed gears to discuss Water Ambassadors Canada and his charitable work involved with providing clean drinking water around the world.
Water Ambassadors Canada has completed projects in over 25 countries including Belize, Bolivia, Burundi, Colombia, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Kenya, Liberia, Nicaragua, Nepal, Philippines, Somaliland, Tanzania, Uganda, Venezuela, and Zambia. Hart estimates over 500,000 individuals have directly benefitted from Water Ambassadors Canada’s efforts.
“They’ll treat you like a celebrity,” said Hart during his talk. They love you for being there, even though there is a language barrier.”
During the speaker series, an audience member asked why their organization was not working on clean drinking water in Canada, specifically in impoverished areas such as Indigenous reservations. Hart says that their organization focuses their efforts on simple point-to-point clean water solutions. Certainly, there are areas in Canada in need of improvements to quality of life, but those changes must come in the form of improvement to municipal systems. Their current methods involved with filtration systems, well infrastructure, and chlorination systems are not meant to survive in the hostile Canadian environment.
“Contaminated drinking water is the biggest cause of death and disease in the world,” said Hart. “It is the biggest global crisis and it is going under the radar.”
Water Ambassadors Canada is a Christian ministry that started out of Lakeside Church in Haliburton. Hart would like to thank the people of Haliburton, the churches of Haliburton, the service clubs, golfers who attend their fundraising golf tournaments and the general community for their generous support over the years.
“Everybody should be involved in some way to help others,” said Hart. Whether it is volunteering in your local community, with an organization such as Habitat for Humanity, or assisting with the fires in L.A., Hart encourages everyone to find joy in their hearts through volunteering and charity.
“People’s hearts should be moved by something, somewhere,” said Hart.
