Altamont senior helps storm-hit Puerto Rico residents get clean water

Shawn Goyal, now a senior at The Altamont School, was learning about the Caribbean in his Spanish class when Hurricane Maria hit in 2017.

Goyal immediately wanted to help storm-ravaged Puerto Rico. At first, he thought he would work with Birmingham nonprofits providing aid to the region.

But he learned about Atlanta-based company Uzima, which makes an efficient, long-lasting water filter that requires no chemicals.

“I had the opportunity to provide a long-term solution to affordable, clean water rather than a short-term fix,” Goyal said.

So he contacted the Uzima CEO, who referred him to a contact person in Puerto Rico. “The project grew from there,” Goyal said.

In the process, Goyal learned a lot about organization, was inspired by the reactions of people he helped and learned an important lesson about the people of people working together. “My biggest takeaway from this project is the importance of community,” he said. “Communities came together because of Hurricane Maria, and these people are the ones who are getting things done.”

As part of his Eagle Scout project, Goyal created 175 water filtration units that were shipped to Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela.

Goyal completed his Eagle Scout project in 2018, but his Puerto Rico contact has sent him video and photographs of people in orphanages, villages and other locations who gained access to safe water using the filters.

Goyal was able to speak to some of these people on the telephone. “It inspired me to do more,” he said.

Using a GoFundMe page, he bought 60 more filters this summer. To avoid shipping costs, Goyal and his mother delivered the filters to San Juan.

He had help when he arrived because his contact gathered volunteers, including Scout troops. In Spanish, Goyal taught them to assemble the filters.

Goyal and his group visited a poor, storm-hit area — known as “Vietnam” — south of San Juan. “We walked down the street handing out the filtration systems to anyone who needed clean water,” he said. In Spanish, Goyal taught people how to use them.

Goyal met and trained an Eagle Scout who will take over the program in San Juan. “I’ll continue to support this project as long as I can and in whatever way I can,” he said.

And Goyal has dreams for the future. “My goal is to expand the program to more countries,” he said.