Deerfield Beach, Florida – June 15, 2012. Wishing Well International Foundation starts the first phase of a 200-family project in the Dominican Republic.   Batey San Jose Ulloa, which was chosen by WWIF’s Board of Directors as a Water Sourceproject for direct involvement by water treatment industry professionals, is preparing for a visit by WWIF Founder Guillermo Guzman the week of June 18, 2012. The village has already received an initial 50 Hydraid filters and Guzman, who recently came back from a trip to Oshoek, South Africa, wants to visit the village personally to learn about its residents and their personal struggles.  The project is being executed in collaboration with Safe Water Team and the Good Samaritan Hospital.

The village of San Jose Ulloa is located about 30 miles south east of San Pedro De Marcoris.  Its exact location is 18° 36’ 55” N and 69° 25’ 10” W.  There are 200 homes in this Batey with a total population of about 1,000 people.  The Batey was established almost 200 years ago and the very poor residents of San Jose Ulloa have only the sugar cane industry to rely on for a sparse number of jobs.

“We wanted a project close enough to home to make it easier for our sponsors to visit, touch and feel so they can experience first hand the impact they have in these developing areas,” said Guzman.  “We have organized mission trips where sponsors can be hands on and work along side other volunteers and the rest of the community.  Think tanks will be started and committees formed to gain input from industry members on developing dealer and vendor involvement programs for the industry.”  Guzman’s vision has always been to bring the entire industry together to support the efforts of the Foundation.

“We invite the entire water treatment industry community and the Water Quality Association (WQA) to join us in this effort.  The industry must lead so we can have others follow,” added Guzman.

One Hydraid Biosand filter costs approximately $100 (USD) and provides water for a family of four for a period of 8 to 10 years.  To donate a filter visit our websitewww.wishingwellintl.org

To learn about corporate sponsorships, visit Become a Sponsor section on the websitehttp://www.wishingwellintl.org/pages/Become_a_corporate_sponsors.html