Disaster Response
Child Development
Clean Water
Hunger Relief
Medical Care
GUATEMALA – Dulmi (age 9) lives with her family in the small mountain village of El Pinalito in eastern Guatemala. Families in her community had no access to clean water. Four times each day, Dulmi and her siblings had to walk a quarter-mile downhill to collect water from a polluted well to use for drinking, cooking, and bathing—until you intervened. “Drinking the water scared me—I thought I might die,” Dulmi shared.
“Drinking the water scared me—I thought I might die.”
-Dulmi
The Struggle for Water in El Pinalito
The journey to the well was dangerous. Dulmi recalls being afraid of snakes along the path. “Once when I was going down to the well, I saw a snake. When I saw it, I froze until it left because if I moved, it would bite me,” she said. Carrying heavy water jugs back uphill was exhausting, and the water was contaminated. Dulmi often got sick—and when illness struck, medical care was hours away. Dulmi’s father, Mario, works long days in the fields, earning only a few dollars a day—far too little to buy clean water. “I prayed to God that someday we would have water that would not make us sick,” he said.
Implementing a Reliable Spring Water Catchment System
Because of your compassion, that prayer was answered. Your support helped provide a spring water catchment system, bringing purified water directly to homes in the community. By utilizing a spring water catchment system, the village no longer relies on the treacherous and contaminated lower wells.
Life-Changing Results from the Spring Water Catchment System
“Now the water is clear and tastes sweet,” Dulmi said. “I drink up to six glasses of water a day, and I don’t get sick.” This modern spring water catchment system has ensured that children like Dulmi can spend their time in school rather than on dangerous mountain paths. Your love has replaced fear with safety—and lit up the darkness for Dulmi and her family.
