Are You Going to Let this Match Opportunity Go By?
Together, One Family at a Time, We Make a Difference
This Month, That Difference Will be Doubled
We are grateful for the on-going generosity of Chip and Lucy Swab, and another family that chooses to remain anonymous, for sponsoring our annual match campaign. Thanks to their support, all donations up to USD $10,000 will be matched through the end of October. That means that for every dollar or peso you give, your gift will automatically be doubled – helping create critically needed access to clean water for twice as many people.
In our section of Northern Guanajuato, there are more than 2,800 urban and rural communities exposed to the dual risk of water scarcity and water contamination. The water table is dropping rapidly, leaving community wells to literally dry up and, in some cases, collapse in on themselves. The water that remains is increasingly contaminated with excessive levels of arsenic and fluoride, creating ever worsening health and economic risks for the more than 680,000 inhabitants in the region.
We know the sheer size and complexity of our regional water problems can seem daunting. That’s why we believe it’s important to take a step back and hear from the individual people impacted by this crisis and understand the difference we can make for real people when we all come together. All this month, we are sharing the personal stories of our community partners – the mothers and community organizers we work with to solve these massive water quality and scarcity issues, one community and one family at a time.
This week, we hope you will take just a few minutes to learn about Gudelia Trejo, a long time partner who is relentlessly dedicated to the future of her community of Pozo Ademado, located an hour north of San Miguel de Allende and facing extreme water contamination and scarcity issues.
Looking for Solutions with Gudelia Trejo
Photo: Gudelia Trejo.
Driving along the backroads to get to the community of Pozo Ademado, it’s impossible not to notice the adjacent massive swaths of agricultural fields, showering their crops with seemingly endless supplies of water at all hours of the day. Once you arrive in Pozo Ademado, however, the reality is quite different. Water only arrives one day a week, and that water also has some of the highest levels of fluoride in the region, close to three times above the World Health Organization’s maximum limit. This has caused significant health impacts in the community, most worrisome among children who are more susceptible to the consequences of consuming contaminated water. Dental fluorosis (the irreversible brown and black staining of the teeth) and cognitive development and learning disabilities in the community’s children, are becoming all too common.
Gudelia Trejo has lived in Pozo Ademado for the past 30 years. She’s witnessed firsthand how those agroindustrial fields started getting greener and larger, all around her, while her own community's water supply started dwindling. This kind of water inequality has had an impact on Gudelia’s health. Prior to having a rainwater harvesting system, Gudelia would feel tired and weak all day, every day, because she had to drink contaminated water from the local well. Now, several years after the construction of her rainwater harvesting system, Gudelia is energetic, healthy, and actively organizing her community to help others avoid the health hazards associated with drinking water with excessive fluoride.
“Building rainwater harvesting systems takes a lot of time and effort, but it is thanks to this time and effort that we can live and enjoy a healthy life. So, let’s invest our time wisely to help ourselves and others.”
Gudelia, from the community of Pozo Ademado
Gudelia is right, it takes about 200 hours to build just one rainwater harvesting system that will serve only 1-2 families – that’s five people working full time for a week! However, that one system will provide a lifetime of safe drinking water for those families. Work like that requires a serious commitment, a commitment that’s freely given by the community and dedicated leaders like Gudelia
Gudelia has now participated in the construction of six large-scale rainwater harvesting systems, more than 20 workshops, and dozens of meetings organizing her community and other communities in the municipalities of San Diego de la Unión and Dolores Hidalgo who are drinking contaminated water or don't have continuous access to clean water. While she does this organizing voluntarily, she has stated that her time is an investment in the futures of her grandchildren, and the future of her watershed. Gudella deeply believes that giving time to these efforts is the least she can do when tens of thousands more are still struggling for access to safe water.
You Can Help Us Double the Reach of Our Work
Photo: Saúl, Caminos' Community Projects Coordinator, explaining how to use the Aguadapt Water Filter to a group of community members.
Water scarcity and contamination are issues that increasingly affect northern Guanajuato and 10s of millions more throughout Mexico. While we’re a small NGO, we’re creating solutions, educational programs, and implementation models that are helping many thousands gain access to clean water and avoid the horrible health impacts associated with water contamination, and can be replicated well beyond the boundaries of our region. With your help, and the help of our campaign sponsors, this month we can double our impact and make twice the difference. Please, consider making a donation to our match campaign and help us reach further, today. Thank you.