Double Your Impact: All Donations Matched!
Our Match Campaign: A Great Way of Doing Twice the Good
I hope this finds you and your loved ones in good health. I want to take this opportunity to talk to you about the growing need for Caminos de Agua’s work, the launch of our current Match Campaign, and the good that your contributions create through the lens of those you have helped impact.
Unfortunately, the need for our work is growing. The overexploitation of our aquifer, here in the northern part of the state of Guanajuato, continues to increase. More wells are drying up and the contamination in our water supplies is increasing – leaving more people in both rural and urban communities to face loss of water access or severe health threats.
This month, we are running our annual Match Campaign. Loyal and generous supporters have once again stepped up to be sponsors. During the campaign, our sponsors will double your donation, up to USD $10,000 total – creating USD $20,000 of badly needed funds.
Photo: Saúl, Caminos' Community Projects Coordinator celebrating the completion of the 20,000 liter (~5300 gallon) rainwater harvesting system at the Salitrillo Community elementary school.
What does your contribution “buy”?
Right now we are working in 15 rural communities, partnering with local residents to build 12,000-liter (~3,200-gallon) capacity rainwater harvesting systems that will ensure a lifetime of access to clean drinking water for families at risk. We must expand that number as fast as possible, and we plan to build 150 this year alone.
We are also operating our internally-developed Groundwater Treatment System that is removing arsenic and fluoride on a whole community level. Very soon, after final adjustments on this first iteration, we’ll be struggling for the funds to extend this “first-of-it’s-kind” treatment system in more communities.
Next month, we will be launching our “Urban Education Initiative” in San Miguel de Allende to educate local residents concerning the truth about their water and what they can do about it. Our water problems are becoming just as prevalent in cities, creating a growing need for these education programs in urban centers.
This is all just the tip of the iceberg. To give you an even closer look at what happens when Caminos de Agua goes to work, we have profiled one of our projects, and more importantly our partners, in the rural community of Salitrillo located within the Municipality of San Miguel de Allende. I urge you to read about these amazing women below and to also give to our Match Campaign today and double your impact.
The Mothers of Salitrillo: From Beneficiaries to Facilitators
Photo: María de Jesús (first from right to left) explaining our water issues to a group of members from the community of Salitrillo.
Pictured above is María de Jesus. She is a mother, a beneficiary, a volunteer, and now a facilitator – creating solutions for her community. Together with her fellow community members, Rosa and Katrina, María has been working closely with Caminos de Agua to make the residents of Salitrillo more aware of the water issues that are directly affecting them.
In 2019, in partnership with Caminos de Agua, the members of Salitrillo built a large-scale rainwater harvesting system at the community's elementary school. Through this process, Maria learned why she and her family were starting to have health problems, what it meant, and that something could be done about it. It became crystal clear to her, and the other two mothers, that it all begins with awareness and education. With that in mind, the three of them, with training from Caminos, have been running workshops and providing educational materials so that as many community members as possible are aware of the water issues they are facing, what their health risks are, what they can do about it, and how to do it.
“We all need to learn about our water issues to make changes and have better health”
María de Jesús, from the Salitrillo Community
As a result of this effective “train the trainer” effort, Caminos de Agua and this group of committed community leaders have motivated dozens of families to become organized and take action. Impressed by our collaboration, the Municipal Government of San Miguel has already signed on to provide the funds to help build 20 more of these rainwater systems in Salitrillo, and we plan to build at least 20 more during the next 12 months in this community. This means that not only will all these families have clean drinking water, they will also avoid the horrible and debilitating health consequences that come from continuously consuming water contaminated with arsenic and fluoride.
Double Your Impact Today
Photo: Rosario, a Salitrillo community member conducting routine maintenance on the community elementary school’s rainwater system.
The successes of Maria, Rosa, Katrina and Caminos de Agua in Salitrillo would not have happened without the donations of supporters just like you.
We will continue reaching out to communities like Salitrillo to build more rainwater systems, install more water filters and treatment plants, and even implement sanitation solutions, like composting toilets. We will continue to design appropriate technology solutions to address the complex water quality and scarcity issues in our region and beyond. We will educate more people in urban centers, and we will also continue to work with local, state, and even federal government actors to implement projects and affect progressive water policy reform. But, we simply can’t do any of this unless we raise more money.
Over the next month, our match campaign is the perfect time to maximize your impact and do the most good as your gift will be doubled. Please start by clicking below. Thank You!
Sincerely,
Dylan Terrell
Executive Director