A few weeks ago, I was in Guatemala with some of the volunteers and fundraisers connected to the Run For H2O, and we met with the community of Parrequena, funded by the Run For H2O last year. The community was about a week away from finishing their water system (which started from a mountain spring 20km away - and they hiked every pipe, every nut and bolt, and every 50kg bag of cement to where it was needed). They were so, so excited as they worked hard on the final touches, including suspending pipeline across a riverbed to their village (which, watching, was an incredible feat in itself - especially with zero direction from the local engineer who was just talking US through the process; the community members had already learned how to do everything themselves and were doing it!).
We left with best wishes for them, and I got a call a few days later, around 10:30pm: "Rainbow, we have water in our taps! We've been working non-stop since you left! We are finished!! We just connected the last pipe and there's SO much water flowing out of our taps!!" What do you say to that? "That's AMAZING!! We are so happy for you! I will come back in March to celebrate with you!..... well... goodnight! Sleep well! Sleep IN tomorrow.... because you'll NEVER have to wake up at 4am to hike down to the river to get water again!!"
And just like that, EVERYTHING changes. Marta (in the video) and her family have said: "this has changed our lives. If it wasn't for your support, our lives would still be the same, every day trekking down to the river 5 times a day. But now our lives are not full of suffering and sorrow - our days are full of joy!" And it happened because so many people here were so generous to share in their journey - giving, in total, over $100,000 last year to buy all the pipes and cement, and provide the training the community needed to build this system and take care of it for all of forever to come.
I also got to visit Talaxcoc, another community, high up in the dry mountains, home to 190 families (where I am today on my birthday!). We spent a day with a lady named Dominga, who had walked over 8km through the mountains to come and tell us her story, the story of most families in the community: she walks some 2.5 hours round trip a few times a day to get water from the river, which is contaminated with sewage from an upstream town that feeds into the river. Her husband passed away years ago and sons are gone for months at a time, working like slaves on a sugarcane plantation to earn whatever meagre income they can. They are suffering and struggling to survive without water.
*** EDIT May 2018: Sadly, Dominga passed away... please read her story here: http://rainbow-in-guatemala.blogspot.ca/2018/05/for-happier-endings.html ***
I chatted with one of the community leaders, Francisco, who is doing everything he can to help his community. He had already been up working for 15 hours when he came by to visit us around 5pm with two big jugs of water from the river - for us to wash our hands after using the bathroom. I said that his willingness to work hard and give what he can to serve others was truly admirable. He responded: "La vida es duro. Uno sufre mucho... pero uno tambien aprende mucho". "Life is harsh. One suffers a lot.... but one also learns a lot". I was so humbled by his humility and service. How am I allowing my life and circumstances to shape me and my character to serve others?
Would you help me, once again, come alongside a community in need? They are so willing to put in the work to build a water system that will serve the whole community for life - they just need some financial support to make it possible.
$100 means clean water for 1 person for life.
$600 means clean water for a whole family for life.
Thank you for considering to be part of this. Your gift truly changes lives, more than you or I will ever fully know!
(all photos courtesy of the lovely Michele Mateus, a friend who came with me to Guatemala! http://michelemateusphotography.com/)