A Look Back at 2023
Throughout the past year, your generosity and dedication have fueled our initiatives, enabling us to attain remarkable milestones in our ongoing efforts to support those most at risk in our ever-evolving water crisis, and for that, we are deeply grateful.
Next week we’re excited to share our plans for 2024! But today, let’s reflect and take a brief look of the incredible progress we've made together in 2023:
Together, we were able to build 234 large-scale Rainwater Harvesting Systems in 22 rural communities, creating more than 60 million liters of clean water access that will last a lifetime.
Thanks exclusively to the support of individual givers, we were able to launch our second, pioneering Groundwater Treatment System (GTS) – our newly developed community-wide treatment plants that eliminate arsenic and fluoride (two extremely difficult-to-remove contaminants common in our region)effectively and efficiently. This system will soon be serving 270 families from the rural community of Alonso Yáñez, the next step in an ongoing rollout.
We concluded our third and final year of our Agua y Salud initiative – our largest, most ambitious project to date, through which we constructed 780 Rainwater Harvesting Systems in 76 communities, along with extensive educational programming, construction of 37 composting toilets, and the installation of more than 1,000 ceramic water filtration systems. In total, approximately 5,000 people are benefitting through direct access to clean water thanks to this project.
Due to the successful completion of Agua y Salud, and after months of intensive work with the Gonzalo Río Arronte Foundation, we were officially approved by year’s end for a new three year project that is twice the size – both in budget and impact – as the Agua y Salud Project.
At Caminos de Agua we are not able to do any of this work alone. All of these incredible accomplishments are only made possible by a true community of support, with each collaborator playing a critical role. From NGO partners like INANA, A.C. who make the Agua y Salud Project possible to grassroots collaborators like SECOPA, CUVAPAS, and the San Cayetano Community Center who dedicate endless hours to providing education, community organization, and accompaniment in our joint rainwater harvesting, composting toilet, and education programs. From University and research partners who expand R&D and help innovate solutions like our Groundwater Treatment System to municipal governments and corporate sponsors like Rotoplas who provide materials for rainwater harvesting systems. From major Foundations like the Gonzalo Río Arronte Foundation, and no less importantly, to each and every individual donor, like you, who together fund these critically needed initiatives.
We cannot overstate enough that your ongoing commitment, as a key member of this intricate community, has been a driving force behind these accomplishments, and we are immensely grateful for your continued belief in this cause, that we share and impact together.
Next week, we’re excited to let you know how this work in 2023 paved the road for an incredibly impactful 2024. As a quick preview, our plans this year include
An innovative new health study in collaboration with the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico,
The launch of a new “Water School” to train young community organizers,
New collaborations to expand rainwater capture and reforestation programs at the community scale, and
Massive expansion in both our Rainwater Harvesting and Groundwater Treatment System programs – to increase clean drinking water to more people than ever before.
While the strides we've made together are truly significant, our journey toward resolving the ongoing crisis is very far from over. We invite you to join us in 2024 to continue this vital work and reach even further. Please consider making a contribution to our 2024 initiatives today and also please consider sharing this message with any of those who you think might be receptive to our mission.
Thank you for being an integral part of our journey and for your unwavering commitment to making a difference. Together, we are truly delivering results and building on success.