We visited the communities of San Bartolo and Capuca, who together are building a single water system to serve both communities. All 100 families have worked hard and fast to construct this large project which contains about 11 miles of pipeline, all trenched by hand in just six months. They expect to complete construction and have water flowing in every home by March 2014.
Padrina Maria (mother of 11 children) and Albina (mother of 7 children) from San Bartolo and Capuca are anticipating the day when they will no longer walk for water. Maria shared with us that she never thought she’d live to see the day that water would flow in her home. “I thought I would die before we received water in our village. I’ve had to walk 4 kilometers for water all my life. Seven years ago we began to dream about getting water. Soon we will have it in our homes and I thank God. I am also proud of what our village has accomplished working together.”
Albina is looking forward to having more time at home to keep her home cleaner. In the past, her children have been injured because she had no choice but to leave them unattended for many hours while she fetched water.
Pictured below are some members of the work crew at the site of the future water storage tank for Capuca. Water flows from a protected spring by gravity to this location, and will then be distributed to each household. The labor provided by the people is incredible. Each family carried 20 gallons of sand over 5 miles to build the foundation for the tank. The community members also carried 80-90 lb rocks for the storage tank walls from a local quarry site. Men had to get up at 3:00 AM to walk to the work site. Their wives often woke up at 1:00 AM to prepare meals for them before they left.
Water is expected to be flowing in every home by March 2014. Thank you to Covenant World Relief for providing major funding for this project!