Water is life and although it is a necessity, water is a luxury in many rural, Guatemalan village communities. Rainwater harvesting is an efficient way to provide a sustainable source of water in rural Guatemalan villages. Funds collected for this project will be used to build rainwater harvesting systems using a combination of new and recycled materials and will provide home drinking water filters for 10 beneficiary families.
In many rural Guatemalan communities water is only available a few hours once a week during the rainy season or as little as just once every 2 weeks to once a month during the dry season. The water that is available is contaminated with feces and causes a variety of stomach illnesses.
This project seeks to address the problem of water scarcity in rural villages of Guatemala by building home rainwater harvesting systems with 10 families affected by water scarcity. Each home rainwater harvesting system will be constructed using new materials as well as over 1,300 eco-bricks, preventing over 3,250 pounds of plastic trash from making its way to public dump sites or from being burned. Each beneficiary family will also receive a water filter to purify water for drinking.
We envision a Guatemala where rural communities have access to a source of sustainable and clean water in their homes. Increased access to clean water improves families' health and economies, betters the lives of women and girls and increases school attendance.
