Transforming Communities with Rainwater: Join the Movement

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Photo: Carmen Castro, leader of SECOPA (“Pozo Ademado Community Services” from its Spanish acronym) at the house of a beneficiary from the community of Tampico. Clean Water for Life, SECOPA, and Amistad Canada: Three Collaborations Helping Expand Clean Water Access through Rainwater  Situated near the southeastern tip of Presa Allende (the Allende Reservoir), San Marcos de Begoña is a small rural community located within the San Miguel de Allende Municipality. Although the community has access to municipal water, they face several serious challenges. Water only arrives during limited three-hour time slots throughout the community, and the schedule is not reliable. Additionally, residents in higher areas of the community often are not able to receive any water at all. Compounding these issues, recent water studies conducted by Caminos de Agua, document that the water in San Marcos is contaminated with unhealthy levels of fluoride and arsenic, rendering it unsafe for human consumption. With approximately 400 families affected, urgent attention is required to address these extreme water conditions. Photo: community members from San Marcos de Begoña looking at the picture of a Rainwater Harvesting System. Photo: Omar Bárcenas (on the far right), Technical Social Promoter at Caminos, giving a workshop on rainwater harvesting in the community of San Marcos de Begoña. Starting this year, Caminos de Agua began building a collaborative project to address the situation in San Marcos de Begoña, initially with Amistad Canada, and now includes the Clean Water for Life Initiative. We are currently working with 34 families to provide them with clean water access through the construction of 34 large-scale Rainwater Harvesting Systems. Thanks to the combined efforts of Amistad Canada and the broader Canadian community in San Miguel de Allende, the dozens of incredibly generous supporters of the Clean Water for Life Initiative, and Caminos de Agua, these families are embarking on a new chapter in their lives with access to clean drinking water for the first time. Juan Marcos Aguilar, one of the beneficiaries of a Rainwater Harvesting System in San Marcos de Begoña, expressed his hope for the project:   "I hope that this project will not only benefit the 34 individual [families] already involved but also extend to the entire community of San Marcos de Begoña, providing them with access to clean rainwater and the programs implemented by Caminos de Agua in our community." Photo: Juan Marcos Aguilar, beneficiary of a Rainwater Harvesting System in the community of San Marcos de Begoña. Moving further north from San Marcos de Begoña, in the municipality of Dolores Hidalgo, we find another example of this collaborative spirit in the community of Tampico, located in the heart of one of the regions most severely affected by water contamination and scarcity. In fact, Tampico’s well is above the Mexican limits for arsenic, and we’ve tested its fluoride levels at more than 2.5 - 4.5 times above the Mexican limits over the years.  Tampico, and its neighboring community of Las Adjuntas del Monte, have collaborated with SECOPA (“Pozo Ademado Community Services” from its Spanish acronym) – a local grassroots organization that has partnered with Caminos de Agua since our inception. It’s because of our collaboration with organizations like SECOPA that we are able to greatly extend our reach, building hundreds of rainwater systems in dozens of communities at a time. This also gives us the capability to look for new partners to bring on board – like the Clean Water for LIfe Initiative, who is helping us to even further expand the impact of these projects in communities like Tampico. Photo: Magdalena Rojas Rojas, a beneficiary from Tampico. Photo: Madalenas Rojas' house and cistern. Clean Water for Life is an initiative originally conceived by David Frechter, who later brought on Hardy Holland and Margo Beck, all three San Miguel residents and water advocates who are bringing on dozens of other supporters to help fund clean water access to more than 160 families in communities throughout the region, including in both San Marcos de Begoña and Tampico. Together with Clean Water for life and SECOPA, we are currently breaking ground on 27 Rainwater Harvesting Systems in Tampico, providing those 27 families with a lifetime of access to clean water.  Magdalena Rojas Rojas, a beneficiary from Tampico, talks about the impact of this project: "This is for the sake of our health and the well-being of everyone living here. By participating in this program, we are preventing the sudden onset of diseases." While the results are still in progress, the desire to expand our reach to this and neighboring communities echoes the sentiment expressed in San Marcos de Begoña. Quoting Magdalena Rojas Rojas once again: "We should continue our efforts beyond this project and strive for more, together, and in unity." The impact of our many collaborations have become truly remarkable. Not only do they provide much more clean water access than one individual or organization could do alone, but they also cultivate and expand the understanding of community for all involved.