Clean Water Transforms A Community

A Bolivian community learns to trust each other and cooperate for the good of all

People in the Andean village of Charamoco constantly fought over water. The closest source was from the salty Arque River. In spite of knowing the high salt content was bad for their health, people had no choice but to daily cart water from the river for bathing, cleaning, cooking, and drinking. Families could dig wells, but even the delivered water that made people ill.

Food for the Hungry in Bolivia conducted a technical study and found suitable water for Charamoco more than six miles away. Aware that it would take the entire community to bring clean water to their community, Food for the Hungry identified two community leaders who agreed to help unite the families: Pastor Hugo Espinoza and the president of the local women’s group, Ester Cossio.

Food for the Hungry staff helped Victor and Ester go door-to-door to convince all the families in the community to participate both financially and with their labor. Before long, 126 families came together to begin the work. Every day for two years, the adults walked 13 miles to and from the spring to work on their water system.

Once the community learned to work together and trust one another, they organized a Water and Sanitation Committee (WSC) to administer, operate, and maintain the potable water system. They even work together or ensure children in the community are receiving vaccinations and using good health and sanitation practices. They organized three volunteers to act as Community Health Workers. The committee also has organized a community savings account that will be used to expand the water system for agriculture.

“Before, everyone fought and argued a lot in our community,” remembers 13-year-old Nilcer Arce. “There was no running water. My father suffered a lot because of drinking from the river. I remember when he started to work with Pastor Hugo and they became good friends. Together, they worked hard so that we could have water.”

What we do

Food for the Hungry walks with the poor around the world, improving water, sanitation and hygiene through a three-pronged approach.

1. Increasing and improving the quantity and quality of water used for household drinking, cooking and cleaning. Examples include:

Quantity

• Construction of hand-dug wells
• Protection and capping of springs
• Drilling of borehole wells
• Construction of gravity-fed water systems

Quality

• Bio-sand filtration
• Ultraviolet and solar purification
• Chlorination of water

Improving sanitation for households and schools.

Examples include:

• Latrine construction
• Proper waste water disposal
• Promoting household cleanliness

Improving personal and household hygiene.

Examples include:

• Proper hand washing
• Proper treatment, storage and care of water in the home
• Proper disposal of human excrement

In the world’s poorest countries, approximately 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water, with an even greater number lacking adequate sanitation and proper hygiene. More than 2 million people—mostly children—die each year from preventable waterborne illnesses.