You Helped Make it Happen! — Caminos de Agua

The Rainy Season is Coming to a Close, But Your Generosity is Lasting

Over the last month, we have been appealing to our supporters, during our “Rainy Season” Campaign, to help us fund the building of more rainwater harvesting systems across Northern Guanajuato. Throughout the region communities are losing access to drinking water at an alarming rate and the remaining water available is increasingly contaminated with arsenic and fluoride – creating ever growing threats to the health and economic welfare of so many of our neighbors. Once again, many of you, our supporters, have come through. We are so gratified and humbled by your response, but, even more importantly, we are able to help more families and communities create water security because of you. So, on behalf of the entire Caminos de Agua team, I just wanted to take a moment and say, Thank You!

An example of what can happen when Caminos de Agua partners with a local community and goes to work is illustrated by the village of Jerico de María. This village is located adjacent to huge fields cultivated by the agricultural-export industry and replete with a groundwater well and a sophisticated irrigation system. In stark contrast, the only way many of the residents of Jerico de María have been able to get water is to purchase it and bring it in on large water trucks, known as “pipas,’ or go to their neighbors, like the large agricultural producers, and ask them to gift them water. And on top of all of that, this water is often expensive, frequently contaminated, and not always available.

As you can see from the photo below, the residents of Jerico de María and the neighboring community of La Cazuela, have recently completed the construction of 18 rainwater harvesting systems, which are now capturing and storing the rain that is currently falling. This ensures that upwards of 40 families will have year-round access to a lifetime of clean, safe drinking water. Right now, we are working hard to take advantage of the rains and are currently implementing similar projects in more than a dozen other rural communities, similar to Jerico de María.

This kind of life-saving progress wouldn’t be possible without you. Again, we sincerely thank you all for your support of this critically important work.

Photo: Members of the community of Jericó de María after finishing the construction of a rainwater harvesting system at the community temple. — **Photo:** Members of the community of Jericó de María after finishing the construction of a rainwater harvesting system at the community temple.

Your Help Now Helps Us Keep Up With The Rapidly Expanding Need

The fact is that the rapidly growing agriculture industry in our semi-arid region is causing the water table to drop precipitously, which, in turn, leads to rising contamination levels in both rural and urban areas. More and more people are facing increasing serious health risks including several kinds of cancer, kidney failure, brittle bones from skeletal fluorosis and cognitive impairment as well as the financial burden of buying water, which many simply cannot afford.

Help Empower Our Communities through Rainwater Harvesting

Photo: Mother and son smiling after a day of construction of a rainwater harvesting system. — **Photo:** Mother and son smiling after a day of construction of a rainwater harvesting system.

At Caminos de Agua, we have developed the tools and capabilities to partner with local communities so they can understand their risks, formulate solutions, find financing, and organize to take action. But the reality is that to do more work, we must continue to run these campaigns and ask for more support.

So, if you haven’t given yet during this campaign, please consider making a donation today. We have a few precious weeks left to take advantage of this rainy season, and every bit counts. And to all of you who have and continue to give to our work, I cannot thank you enough.

Sincerely,