This Year Give Water, the Gift of Life
Photo: A community member from La Cazuela holds two water bottles (garráfones) with Caminos's Aguadapt ceramic filter.
The Holidays are a time of family, reunion, and joyfulness for many. I hope that after a very difficult couple of years, you are able to reconnect with your loved ones and enjoy this season. This is, however, a very difficult time for some of us whose access to safe drinking water is lacking, unfortunately the reality that increasingly affects far too many people in our own community, our region, and throughout greater Mexico. We know there are many worthy causes to support as you may be contemplating your year-end giving. This year, we hope you consider adding Caminos de Agua to your list to help improve health and community wellbeing by creating a life-sustaining supply of safe drinking water for those in need.
As you might be aware, our aquifer, the Upper Rio Laja, where we receive almost all of our water here in the northern part of the State of Guanajuato, is being severely overexploited. This is exposing people to a series of extremely dangerous health effects. Dental and skeletal fluorosis (teeth turning brown and bones become brittle and deformed) are irreversible and chronic health conditions that are increasingly impacting more and more people throughout our region. Skin lesions, learning and cognitive impairments in children, chronic kidney disease, and several types of cancer are just some of the other threats that many face. These health effects are the result of drinking “fossilised” water that is contaminated with arsenic and fluoride, two naturally-occurring chemicals that exist at incredible depths – hundreds of meters deep – in our aquifer, where we now must drill to extract our water.
This year, more than any other year in our history, we’ve had amazing opportunities to collaborate with so many communities, families, and individuals who have been able to transform their reality for the better through the construction of new rainwater harvesting systems and other water solutions. For many, this is the first time they’ve had safe drinking water for years, or maybe their entire lives. The joy we’ve witnessed is truly indescribable in words. Partnering with these communities to expand their access to clean, safe water has meant giving them back control of their health.
On this occasion, I want to share with you the story of La Cazuela, a rural community located approximately an hour’s drive north of San Miguel de Allende, and the joyfulness our supporters, like you, have helped create through their contributions in constructing rainwater harvesting systems for families.
Welcome to La Cazuela, a Celebration of Water and Life
Photo: group picture at the inauguration event of the new rainwater harvesting systems at the community of La Cazuela.
Getting to La Cazuela is a surreal experience. Although the community is surrounded by large and modern agricultural fields and greenhouses, with abundant water flowing through their irrigation systems, La Cazuela itself is desertic and dry. Like many of the 2,800 communities in our region of Northern Guanajuato, La Cazuela is experiencing the dire effects related to water scarcity and contamination. Their well has completely dried up due to the surrounding agricultural production sucking up all of the available water.
SECOPA (Pozo Ademado Community Services), one of our key grassroots partners, has been working with community leaders and members of La Cazuela for more than a year in order to educate, organize, and finally mitigate the detrimental effects of their water crisis. Thanks to the collaboration between the community members of La Cazuela, SECOPA, and Caminos de Agua, dozens of community members have taken their destiny into their own hands and secured a lifetime of safe drinking water for themselves and their loved ones. This month we participated in the inauguration of dozens of rainwater harvesting systems newly built with our help. Below is a selection of images where you can witness the joy and celebration of life that having safe drinking water creates.
During the inauguration, we had the chance to enjoy delicious food, hear our community partners give beautiful speeches about what it means to finally have clean water, delight in viewing model rainwater harvesting systems (see photos above), and even a take in an amazing musical performance! It was truly a festive experience and a time to celebrate after a lot of incredibly hard work. This achievement exists only because of the support of people like you. The impact we can have when we work hand in hand with those most in need is a beautiful and life changing experience.
Can You Imagine Celebrating Your Holidays Without Water?
Our water crisis may appear harsh from the outside but it is much worse for the people experiencing it on a daily basis. Only with the support of people like you can we continue to mitigate the dire situation created by the double threat of water scarcity and water contamination. To keep doing our job, which grows in size and scope daily, we need your financial support. Many of you have already come through this year and to you, our heartfelt thanks. If you haven’t or if you wait until the end of the year to do your giving, please help communities like La Cazuela find their way back to a healthy and fulfilling life by giving water, the gift of life.
Dylan Terrell
Executive Director