Water for Mindanao

National Anti-Poverty Commission Secretary Zamzamin Ampatuan samples the water from a rainwater catchment in the island village of Tictabon in Zamboanga City, which was rehabilitated by the Alliance for Mindanao Off-grid Renewable Energy (AMORE) Program of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Energy, Mirant Philippines Foundation, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Winrock International. The locals used to buy drinking water from vendors who brought the water from the city proper to the island by boat. AMORE, which brings both electricity and water to remote, conflict-affected villages in Mindanao, also trained the community to disinfect the water to prevent diarrhea and other waterborne diseases. AMORE chief Theresa Capellan turned over this and some 60 other water projects to Sec. Ampatuan in the presence of USAID officials.