A Father’s Hope: Safe Water in Aldea Roma

Staring down at the petri dish covered in bacteria, disbelief set in for Jorge that the water his family had been consuming for years was contaminated.  

This realization left the father of five wondering whether this contamination was the cause of sickness his family had experienced for many years. The water piped to their house looked clear and contained no visual impurities. Therefore, they assumed it was normal. 

It wasn’t until Jorge was contracted to work on the construction of a Water Mission water project that he realized the problem at large. 

“[The water] was polluted ... Something that I didn't believe until I saw the help that came to the Roma community,” Jorge said. 

Jorge has lived his entire life in Aldea Roma, a rural community in Honduras located in a palm-tree jungle with a small river nearby. Without access to safe water, many residents struggled to live hygienic lifestyles and put food on their tables.  

Women and children in Aldea Roma used to walk to a small river nearby to bathe and wash their clothes and dishes. With little water trickling from their taps and no sanitary structures for showering, this was their only option. 

Well-meaning organizations and entities had previously built water projects in Aldea Roma, but eventually, each one failed. The community’s most recent project—built in 2013—included a chlorinator that was insufficient for the town’s size, leading to untreated water being piped to people’s homes. 

For years, Jorge and his family were under the impression that their tap water was safe. When Water Mission came to Aldea Roma, he realized that he had been mistaken. 

As a man who worked hard to provide for his family, this discovery was difficult for Jorge to comprehend. He knew it had affected his children and could continue to compromise their health. 

Sofia, Jorge’s 14-year-old daughter, can recount multiple times where she was sick growing up, experiencing dizziness and headaches. Learning that the water she consumed daily could have contributed to her sicknesses made her uneasy.  

Thanks to the support of friends like you and the collaboration of Jorge and his fellow community members, Water Mission commissioned a safe water project in Aldea Roma in September 2024.  

This project includes a surface treatment plant that sources water from a river upstream of the community. It serves approximately 2,800 people and delivers water to a school in the community. 

We also identified the most vulnerable families in the community and built private latrines and showers in each home, bringing peace and dignity to men, women, and children. 

Families like Jorge’s have seen the impact of what safe water can do not just for a family, but for a community. Jorge said he feels blessed to have contributed to this project and witness the good that has come from it. 

The support of generous people like you has made it possible for the people of Aldea Roma to have clean, safe water every day. Since the project was built, people no longer have to fear that the rainy season will contaminate the water. Rain or shine, safe water will continue to bring health to families like Jorge’s in Aldea Roma. 

“I feel good because I have always been in a community that has always been full of blessings,” Jorge said. “...In the middle of the rain, there is always water, and now it is clean water...” 

This Father’s Day, we recognize that many fathers around the world lack the same comfort Jorge now has: that his children have safe water to drink. Your gift could change that.  

When you give to Water Mission, you are helping bring peace to parents and health to their children.