Bradley Potts - Army Strong Stories

Honduras- Last Post

Bradley Potts — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:48:00 GMT

By: Bradley Potts
Hi everyone, This post concludes my blogging of the 2010 Water for People AIAD. Working and traveling in Honduras has countless benefits to all involved; we aided in one of the world's struggles, clean water delivery and sanitation, we became immersed into a foreign culture, many of us improved in our Spanish speaking abilities, and we shared new experiences that I am certain we will never forget. Honduras offered me a rare chance to live completely in the moment- a combination of...read more

Honduras 9

Bradley Potts — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:44:00 GMT

By: Bradley Potts
Hi everyone, A lot of past pictures are missing; sorry if this is an inconvenience. It has been a great couple days in La Ceiba. On Sunday, we toured a forest canopy and visited both a serpent and butterfly house. The highlight of the tour was enjoying the Coloradito River; it contained the clearest river water and provided many excellent pools for swimming. The following are pictures of the river (the second contains Jake Darsey and if you look closely, my head is to his left)....read more

Honduras 8

Bradley Potts — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 17:55:00 GMT

By: Bradley Potts
Hello to all, Today was a short but exciting day in Honduras. The group is staying in a very nice hotel on the shore of Lake Yojoa; what makes this area interesting, however, is the abundance of caves. A group shot after spelunking. We explored a very popular local cave today but with a little negotiation, we managed to obtain a guided tour deeper underground. The first 300M of cave contained concrete walkways, stairs, and decent lighting. A column formation in...read more

Honduras 7

Bradley Potts — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 04:39:00 GMT

By: Bradley Potts
Hi everyone, Our group was without Internet access over the past two days, but I am glad to share my best Honduras experience thus far. We traveled to a self-sustained coffee plantation , which was much more than just that (contained its own village), called Finca El Cisne. http://www.fincaelcisne.com/finca-tours.htm Led by Carlos, part owner and manager, we toured the plantation on horse while learning about coffee, cocoa, and cardamom. Coffee and cocoa grow...read more

Honduras 6

Bradley Potts — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 04:41:00 GMT

By: Bradley Potts
Hi everyone, After a day of travel, we arrived at the city of Copan (without internet until now). Here, we took a guided tour and explored the vast city of Mayan ruins. The following is a group shot over looking 18 rabbit plaza. We learned many interesting facts; I was most blown away after learning that only about 1/4 of Copan has been escavated. Further, there are more ancient temples and ball courts burried beneath the visible ruins. Mark Atangan and I descend the...read more

Honduras 5

Bradley Potts — Sun, 30 May 2010 04:43:00 GMT

By: Bradley Potts
Hi everyone, We have just about completed the report to Water for People. It consists of data presentation, analysis, and recommendations for both the water project and monitoring process. The following is a picture of the whole team, (Mark, Ashley, Jake, Victoria, Frankie, and I) along with Allen and Sergio. The last couple days have been largely spent in the hotel room but this is a good opportunity to share some facts that make Honduras unique. 1....read more

Honduras 4

Bradley Potts — Sun, 30 May 2010 04:42:00 GMT

By: Bradley Potts
Hi everyone, The wet season is beginning to take hold in Honduras; our surveying on Thursday was cut short by a mid-afternoon storm that made travel too dangerous along unimproved roads. The following is a short video from within a cloud while driving through the mountains. Before the storm put a halt to our monitoring, we completed the 42 survey village with much success. The following picture captures Victoria Oropeza, Jake Darsey, and I as we test water at a primary...read more

Honduras 3

Bradley Potts — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:44:00 GMT

By: Bradley Potts
Hello to all, Today was another exciting and adventurous day in Honduras; our group surveyed five villages learning and experiencing many new things. Just as in the past few days, our surveys showed us that most villagers were satisfied with the improved water and sanitation systems. Chlorination is always an area of concern for us when assessing a village's system; many of the hypochlorinators on the water tanks are broken or refilled too infrequently. It is expected that chlorine be...read more

Honduras 2

Bradley Potts — Wed, 26 May 2010 04:45:00 GMT

By: Bradley Potts
Hi everyone, It's been a busy but exciting day in Honduras. Together, the two teams surveyed five villages in the municipality of El Negrito. After traveling through unimproved mountain roads and dense jungle, my team reached the village of Cerro Prieto. The village of 228 was maintained very well as evidenced by the chlorination levels in various taps. Latrines were also well kept in the isolated village- Cerro Prieto seems to be a great success as it was clear that the town's...read more

Honduras 1

Bradley Potts — Tue, 25 May 2010 04:46:00 GMT

By: Bradley Potts
Hi everyone, After a day of travel and acclamation to the balmy climate, we were eager to begin our work. Today, we had a chance to meet with representatives from Water for People and regional water project directors for the area. We discussed the goals of Water for People in the area which included water delivery and sanitation to 95% of villagers in the municipalities of San Antonio, El Negrito, and Chinda. The overarching goal of the Honduras work, however, is to teach villagers to...read more

Pre-Honduras Trip

Bradley Potts — Sun, 23 May 2010 01:31:00 GMT

By: Bradley Potts
Hi everyone, I'm Bradley Potts of WP class of 2012. Over the next few weeks, I will be traveling to Honduras with a team of cadets and an instructor to evaluate water systems in various remote villages. Over the last few years, an organization called Water for People set up many water sanitation and delivery systems in Honduras and our trip will focus on the objective assessment of how well these systems are performing. We will conduct water quality tests and also survey the...read more