PERU – As the sun rose over the beautiful mountain vistas in Peru, Jhan Marco (age 9) gathered an armload of buckets and bottles. But he didn’t notice the stunning views that attract tourists to the Andes highlands every year. He didn’t visit the closest city of Puno, nearly two hours away, or take tours of Peru’s famous ancient ruins. Jhan Marco was on a mission. For him, daily live was dominated by the limitation of access to clean water.
With the containers in hand, he grabbed his bike and started on his journey. He rode down a dry, rocky path, alongside pastures where his family’s livestock grazed, to reach the river. Once there, he filled each bucket and bottle carefully. He couldn’t afford to lose a single precious drop. Then he loaded up his bicycle and headed back home again.
The mission took Jhan Marco over an hour each day, but he had no other choice. The only water available within Llinquipata, his village, was an open artesian well filled with bacteria. “The well water smells bad and has frogs,” Jhan Marco said. His family desperately needed water for drinking, cooking, and washing. So, every day, he made the long journey to the river—until friends like you intervened and brought the gift of joy.
Like Jhan Marco and his five siblings, their parents had lived in Llinquipata since birth. The daily struggle with clean water was one his family had known for generations. “We need water for living,” said Cirila, Jhan Marco’s mother. “Our animals, our cattle—they all suffer too, because they need water to drink.”
“We need water for living, our animals, our cattle—they all suffer too, because they need water to drink.”
-Cirila, Jhan Marco’s Mother
But the water Jhan Marco brought home from the river wasn’t clean. Even boiling it didn’t help. “At times, we’ve fallen ill,” Jhan Marco told us. “I didn’t feel like doing anything and had no energy. I was feeling bad, tired, and dizzy.”
As a mother, Cirila was desperate for a solution. The need for access to clean water is essential for her family to prosper. “Every one of my kids are very important for me. … I worry about their education and health,” she said. “We pray that God can hear us and let us one day have clean water for use and for drinking.”
God did hear her prayers and sent your love to the rescue! Together with the partnership of our faithful supporters, we were able to find an alternative water source for the residents of Llinquipata. Kindness from friends like you enabled us to build an above-ground tank to store the water and purify it through a chlorination process. The tank uses solar energy to pump fresh, clean water that then flows to every home and family in the community. And, thanks to your help, the residents of Llinquipata have bathrooms for the very first time. Now, they can wash their hands and practice good hygiene to stay healthy and free from waterborne illnesses.
Today, Jhan Marco no longer has to make the long daily trek to the river to collect water or fear getting sick from drinking it. Instead, he and the other children in his village can focus on their education and spend time with their families.
You have been a part of this incredible gift for Jhan Marco and his siblings. By providing them access to clean water you have given him hope for a different future. “I am very happy to have clean water! Thank you very much!”
