On 4/21/2015, Mark Membreno spoke to the Magnolia Rotary Club about an organization he helped to create while a student at Texas A&M called "Just4Water". Pictured above is Mark Membreno who just joined the Magnolia Rotary Club.
 
Just4Water or J4W, Inc., is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing self-sustainable water solutions to developing nations. J4W grew from the aspirations of two Texas A&M college students, Guillermo Gomez-Salas and Mark Membreño, who had a passion for helping developing countries reduce the issue of water scarcity. With the support of other college students and professors, J4W was founded in January 2014 and built their first water well in Paso Real, Nicaragua on March 20, 2014.
 
Mark showed everyone a video that can be seen online at their website, www.just4water.us. The video showed some of their fund raising efforts as well as water well projects in developing nations and a spring retreat for J4W members. From J4W's beginning 2 years ago, its membership has grown to around 60 current members.  J4W's mission is to help reduce water scarcity by providing self-sustainable and economic water solutions to communities with the most need around the globe. Its vision is to be a leading student non-profit organization with chapters throughout the world that seek innovative and creative solutions to eradicate the lack of access to clean drinkable water. It is important to know that all of their wells are dug by hand and the water is pumped out of the ground by hand. This is because most of the villages they help do not have electricity or an easy way to maintain any electrical equipment if generators are used. Wells can not be deeper than 100 feet due to how hard it is to pump it to the surface.
 
The first completed well project in Paso Real took 12 days to complete by hand and is 27 meters in depth with a water depth of 2.8 meters. After testing the water, the water well was concluded to provide water to more than 60 people in the community. Although this well was in Nicaragua, J4W has future plans to dig wells in both El Salvador and Guatemala. The wells are needed because it has been estimated that almost 5,000 children die each day around the world due to a lack of water or water related diseases arising from unsanitary wells. It is estimated that 1 electric well will cost as much to install as 4 to 6 hand dug wells.
 
Mark then pointed out the ways that individuals can help: donate money or tools. get involved, volunteer, and/or start a J4W chapter. J4W is also trying to become a 501 (c3) organization and is looking for anyone who could provide the legal help they need to make that happen.
 
For more info about J4W, visit their web site at "www.just4water.us". Additional photos can be found on their web site. One photo from their web site of a well being dug by hand can be seen below.
 
 
 
 
 
Sponsors