Water & Coronavirus: One year Later

Photo: Karina from Caminos de Agua interviewing a family for our Monitoring and Evaluation Program. — **Photo:** Karina from Caminos de Agua interviewing a family for our Monitoring and Evaluation Program.

I want to update you personally regarding our critical work to expand water access during the on-going global COVID-19 pandemic. But, before getting into it, I want to let you know that two families, and long-time supporters of Caminos de Agua, have decided to sponsor our March Match Campaign. That means every dollar or peso you donate this month, up to USD $10,000, will be doubled – allowing your contribution to Caminos this month to have Twice The Impact.

Photo: Casilda from Caminos de Agua delivering a batch of ceramic water filters. — **Photo:** Casilda from Caminos de Agua delivering a batch of ceramic water filters.

When the pandemic hit last year, we estimated that we were a few weeks behind the US and other parts of the world. However, it turned out that the virus didn’t really make a major impact – especially in the more rural communities where Caminos de Agua works – until right around the beginning of 2021. In San Miguel de Allende, and in the 2,500 communities throughout the broader region, we are witnessing a dramatic increase in the number of cases as I write this text. The ironic reality is that it has become more difficult for us to work under the pandemic at the very time when water solutions are more urgently needed than ever before.

The Upper Río Laja aquifer, the main water resource in our region, is severely overexploited – endangering water access for the nearly 700,000 people that depend on it. Every year the water table is dropping lower and lower, requiring the drilling of wells deeper, reaching into ancient water deposits that are rich in dangerous mineral contaminants – namely arsenic and fluoride – that create threatening chronic health conditions.

However, most important right now, is the lack of water. Water is essential to sanitation and slowing the spread of the virus and saving lives, yet tens of thousands of people living in our region – many of whom may receive water only once or twice a week – are forced to combat the virus without sufficient and reliable water resources.

Photo: Matthieu from Caminos de Agua inspecting a Rainwater Harvesting System. — **Photo:** Matthieu from Caminos de Agua inspecting a Rainwater Harvesting System.

We’re on the Job

At Caminos de Agua, we’ve been working against the clock for the past year, increasing our efforts to bring water access to more communities during this trying time. Our efforts have been been especially committed to step up the construction of rainwater harvesting systems and composting toilets. We also developed new educational resources that focus on strategies to limit the spread of the virus, specifically for communities with limited water access, which we have been distributing, and using to train partners, throughout the region.

During the pandemic, we have built, or are currently breaking ground on, 130 large-scale rainwater harvesting systems, creating more than 1.2 million liters of new clean water storage in 20 rural communities throughout our watershed. Thanks to supporters like you, and through Agua y Salud – the most ambitious project we’ve ever undertaken – this will be the most impactful year in our history.

Of course, this global health emergency has radically transformed the way we do things at Caminos de Agua. We had to change the way we conduct educational and technical training workshops at the local community level. While we have done as much of this as we can virtually, that simply is not an option for many of our collaborators. So, we have also had to find ways to work directly in smaller groups and, at times, at the individual family level – always taking the necessary precautions to avoid transmission and protect our staff.

Photo: Allie from Caminos de Agua taking a water sample in the community of Agustin Gonzalez. — **Photo:** Allie from Caminos de Agua taking a water sample in the community of Agustin Gonzalez.

Your Support is Crucial – Give Now and Double Your Impact

These initiatives, as well as the necessary changes in the way we work, have taken a lot of effort, organizational resources and additional expense. We travel more, and we have hired new staff – allowing us to responsibly be in several places at once. To keep this up, we are reaching out to you, our friends, supporters, and families, to help us continue in our fight to expand water access for those who need it now more than ever. After a long year of exhausting work, we are seeing how the pandemic is only now starting to make impact in rural Mexico.

I would like to personally thank our sponsors, Chip & Lucy Swab and Bob & Peggy Krist, for so graciously making this campaign possible and matching all donations up to USD $10,000 this month. We are incredibly grateful for their commitment and generosity. Please join them and give today.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to reply directly to this email, and someone from our team will be in touch with you soon.

Sincerely Yours,