By Dylan Terrell | Executive Director
Dear GlobalGiving Supporters,
We are pleased that the projects we launched during our last report in May are well underway and two have been completed!
One important project was implemented alongside our long-time grassroots partner organization, SECOPA in the rural community of Tampico, which is located in the municipality of Dolores Hidalgo. The community’s well is highly contaminated with fluoride – more than 4 times above the allowable limit. Because of this, severe dental fluorosis – the irreversible staining and deterioration of teeth – is rampant among the more than 100 children living in the community. Additionally, many people suffer from kidney damage in Tampico, a closely linked health impact of regularly consuming water with excessive levels of fluoride, which the local doctor said was directly tied to the consumption of the contaminated water.
Further complicating the issue, the well that serves Tampico only provides some families with contaminated water for 3-4 hours a day maximum. However, others don’t receive any water due to increasingly lower water tables that don’t allow the well’s pump to reach all of the families.
Rainwater, however, is inherently free of dangerous chemical contaminants like fluoride and also doesn’t put additional stress on already over-exploited groundwater resources. Thanks to the support of the Clean Water for Life Campaign, an independent initiative to raise funds for rainwater harvesting systems, we successfully completed the construction of 27 rainwater harvesting systems in the community of Tampico! These systems, along with the ceramic water filters for biological pathogens, will provide the 27 participating families a lifetime source of safe drinking water.
After Tampico, we moved closer to the Caminos de Agua office in the municipality of San Miguel de Allende and the rural community of San Marcos de Begoña. San Marcos is about 4-5 times larger than Tampico and also suffers from both water scarcity for many families as well as excessive levels of both fluoride and arsenic in the water they do have. Also through the Clean Water for Life Campaign, in conjunction with our partners at Amistad Canada, we were able to build 34 large-scale rainwater harvesting systems in the community of San Marcos.
Take a look at a brief video from our Executive Director in the community of San Marcos during the technical training earlier this summer: https://youtu.be/-TzvbBp-X8k?si=5egFcWpX5CVX7giW
In addition to these projects, we officially signed a contract with the Municipal Government of San Diego de la Unión to build a staggering 115 additional rainwater harvesting systems in more than a dozen communities through the end of the year! GlobalGiving supporters are specifically supporting this project by making sure all of the participating families have their own Aguadapt ceramic water filters – a critical component of the rainwater harvesting systems that remove biological pathogens, assuring the water is fit for human consumption.
Moving forward, we are thrilled to announce an incredible opportunity to the GlobalGiving community – our “Multiply Your Impact” Fall Match Campaign, sponsored by long-term Caminos de Agua donors. From now until the end of October, every contribution will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to a maximum of $10,000 USD. This incredible opportunity effectively doubles the value of your donation – allowing you and us to create an even more profound and lasting impact. All donations through GlobalGiving will count towards this campaign. So, please, consider supporting this important project today and have your impact doubled!
Important Note: The match opportunity mentioned above is being provided independently by outside supporters of Caminos de Agua and not through GlobalGiving. Because of this, GlobalGiving is not able to verify that donations are matched. Please email the Caminos de Agua Team (info@caminosdeagua.org) for any questions, to learn more about the campaign, and to verify any matching donations directly.
On behalf of the entire Caminos de Agua team, and our growing network of partners who make this work possible, thank you for supporting our mission!
Saludos,
The Caminos de Agua Team
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