Together We Can Do a Lot, Last Chance to Have Your Contribution Matched!
If Each of Us Does A Little, Together We Can Do a Lot
Our annual match campaign is possible thanks to the support of two generous families, Chip and Lucy Swab, and another who chooses to remain anonymous. Thanks to them, every gift made during this month-long campaign will be doubled up to USD $10,000, allowing you to double your impact. There’s still a week left to take part in this opportunity, don’t let this opportunity pass you by.
Providing access to clean water for those at risk requires a lot of collaboration and it starts with people like you. With our dedicated and talented staff as the focal point, we also rely on hundreds of other partners to make this work possible and successful – local community members who dedicate countless hours building solutions, volunteer masons who provide skilled labor, grassroots partners who educate and help bring communities together with a purpose, academic partners who help us design appropriate solutions, and a satellite network of technical and other professional advisors, community leaders, and volunteers who provide endless support, guidance, and direction.
Throughout this campaign, we have highlighted the sheer amount of commitment and dedication, work, people, resources, and time required to confront the gigantic task at hand through the eyes of those living it. It’s only through all these collaborations, where every one of us is an important contributor, that we can truly make a difference in the health and well being of real people who otherwise are facing dire consequences. Your collaboration, as a supporter, is just as crucial as everyone else’s, an important point we have underscored throughout this campaign. So this week, instead of putting the spotlight on a specific individual, we wanted to take a moment to let you know exactly what your support helps us accomplish and what we’ve built together. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to learn about the impact you’ve helped to create this year.
What We Build Together
Our regional water crisis is driven by the overexploitation of our main water source, the Upper Rio Laja Aquifer, mainly by the export agriculture industry. Each year the water table falls dramatically more, at a rate of 2-3 meters (~6-10 feet), making it some of the most over-extracted groundwater in the world and leaving many wells to simply dry up. More than 680,000 residents across Northern Guanajuato State – including those San Miguel de Allende – are exposed to the double threat of a dwindling water supply that is also increasingly contaminated with toxic levels of arsenic and fluoride. People who are exposed to these contaminants are, in growing numbers, experiencing chronic kidney disease, dental and skeletal fluorosis (teeth turn brown and bones become brittle and deformed), skin lesions, cognitive development and learning impairments in children, and several types of cancer.
Yet, hundreds of thousands, from rural community members to urban dwellers, don’t know the truth about their water quality and the health issues that consuming this water is causing them. As a small NGO, we in Caminos de Agua have to be very resourceful in order to educate, develop and install solutions, and sustainably reach as many people as possible. We count on so many others to make a difference, and that includes you.
Photo: A group of community members and volunteers "weaving" the metal mesh that gives shape to the rainwater harvesting system's cistern.
Here are just some highlights of what we’ve accomplished so far this year thanks to the support of people like you, and along with our other collaborators in the region, greater Mexico, and beyond.
Pilot a new educational water quality monitoring program in 20 communities throughout our region that helps to better inform people on the challenges we face with regards to our shared water resources.
Implement 7 intensive, week-long technical capacity trainings on how to design and build rainwater harvesting systems.
Provide an additional 65+ workshops and other educational opportunities on local water issues, the construction of composting toilets, use and maintenance of ceramic water filters, and more than 180 hours of direct training and planning to help build the capacity of local community leaders.
Completed the construction of 140 rainwater harvesting systems, across 15 communities, for the first phase of our massive “Agua y Salud” (Water and Health) project, and we plan to break ground on 86 more systems by the year’s end.
We’ve delivered ceramic water filters to more than 130 families participating in these projects that remove bacteria, making the water fit for human consumption.
We’ve created a new educational bulletin so those whose health and well being are at risk can learn more about the different aspects of our work and the growing water crisis.
Right now, we’re launching a new Urban Education Initiative aimed at providing critical information to the urban public about their growing water issues.
After more than six years in development, we turned on our first Groundwater Treatment System in the community of Los Ricos, which removes arsenic and fluoride at the community level and is serving as a blueprint for a new generation of efficient, low-cost, effective water treatment for the region and well beyond.
We have also safely brought on, in spite of the COVID Pandemic, three new staff members as well as six new volunteers and Technical Fellows to help implement our mission.
There’s a lot for all of us to be proud of, but there is also still a lot of work to be done.
Help Us Get There Faster
It’s easy to throw up one’s hands given the scope of the problem at hand. However, it’s important to remember that while solving the political, root causes of over-extracted groundwater that led to our crisis might be a daunting task, we can make a real difference in the lives of those most impacted right now. Too many affected people simply don’t have the luxury of waiting for political solutions or other technical innovations to save the day. These people are strong, smart, and committed to take action and make a real impact not only for their own families but also for those of their neighbors. Please consider supporting these efforts by making a donation to our match campaign today and create double the impact with one gift.