HONDURAS – Ten-year-old Jeslin lives in the small village of Santa Elena tucked away in the mountains. Although her community is beautiful in many ways, the residents have never had a source of clean water in Honduras.
Ever since Jeslin was small, she has accompanied her mother and siblings to search for clean water. “It was hard. After school, I came home to do my homework, studied, played for a while, and then I had to go fetch water.”
Even with their grueling searches, the water contained many dangers. “Sometimes when we got to the water source the water was very dirty, but we had no choice but to take it home,” she said. “Sometimes the water was yellow. I was afraid to go back to the water source because there could be a snake there.”
Stomach ailments from the dirty water often left the villagers feeling sick, and made it hard for them to work or attend school. Despite her family’s attempts to purify the water, young Jeslin also suffered.
“One time I took a drink, but it tasted horrible. I drank it and I thought, ‘I hate this and I don’t want to drink it again,’ and then I got a strong stomachache. It felt like my stomach was going to explode, and I cried from the pain.”
Clean Water Solutions From Operation Blessing
When we learned about the troubling situation in Santa Elena, concerning the lack of clean water in Honduras, a special group of Operation Blessing friends pitched in together to bless this community. We were able to bring the help Jeslin and her community needed! Working with the local municipality and the assistance of the villagers, Operation Blessing constructed a gravity-fed system complete with a storage tank and network of pipes to make sure the people of Santa Elena would no longer suffer without clean water.
Fresh and safe water is now available right to their homes. Because of the faithful support of friends like you, Jeslin’s family, along with more than 30 other households in their village, now enjoy the blessing of clean water in Honduras every day.
Jeslin said, “I thank God because Operation Blessing gave us this project. I feel so happy. I thank the people who donated to this project because now I am drinking clean water and we are joyful!”
