When Words Are Not Enough
June 21, 2016
Estella Maria Sosa Canaca is a 69-year-old grandmother residing in a rural Honduran town. Her community, Quebrada de Arena, received a Living Water™ Treatment System and Healthy Latrines™ as part of a multi-year initiative to provide safe water and sanitation throughout the region of Colón, Honduras. In 2006, Water Mission partnered with Pentair to build a safe water and sanitation solution for Quebrada de Arena’s 4,500 residents as part of the Safe Water Colón initiative.
As a follow-up to the 200 water projects installed during Safe Water Colón, the Water Mission Honduras team is conducting service and functionality surveys in the region to continue assessing the results of safe water and sanitation in these communities. In March, I accompanied the Water Mission Honduras community development team on their fourth round of surveys.
Upon arriving, we were introduced to the Safe Water Committee, the community’s leadership team that operates and sustains the water treatment system and latrines. It had been a long morning walking dusty roads under the unrelenting heat of the equatorial sun, and I cannot begin to express the overwhelming relief when we finally arrived at the community.
We arrived at Estella’s home, where she firmly shook my hand and quickly offered me the “delicious water.” I gratefully accepted her offer with a deepened understanding and compassion for those in communities without access to safe water.
Her home’s tin roof provided shade, and even without air conditioning or a fan, the slight cross-breeze that flowed through the house cooled us off as we settled into conversation.
As the founding member of Quebrada de Arena’s Safe Water Committee, Estella beamed with pride as we began discussing the impact of safe water and sanitation on her family.
With her grandson held firmly on her hip, Estella told us of the first time she tasted safe water. She was nearly 60 when the safe water project and household latrines were built, and she was overjoyed to have water that was safe for drinking, cooking, and bathing for the first time in her life. For Estella, there were not adequate words to express the difference in her quality of life.
An even more beautiful reality is that her grandchildren will be safe from the diseases that result from a lack of access to safe water and sanitation. They will never know the struggle of a life without safe water. At the end of our time together, Estella’s expression softened to reveal heartfelt gratitude as she said, “I thank Water Mission and Pentair. I thank everyone who brought safe water to my home through this project.”
I encourage you to invest in water projects to serve families like Estella’s. By joining Thirst Quenchers, our dedicated group of monthly investors, you allow us to invest in specific areas of our work, expand in-country programs, and share the Living Water message of Jesus Christ with the people we serve. These gifts reduce overhead expenses, enabling your donation to provide more people with safe water. Just $25 a month provides one person with safe water for life!
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