David Frechter: From San Miguel Resident to Water Activist
David Frechter is a resident of San Miguel de Allende who recently led the launch of the “Clean Water for Life Campaign” to support rainwater harvesting services in at-risk communities. The following is a conversation between David and Caminos de Agua about his experiences becoming part of the SMA community, getting involved with ‘Caminos’, and making a big difference.
"I have come to feel I am part of Caminos, part of the fundraising team I initiated, and in a way, partof the communities who we’re raising money for."
–David Frechter
What first attracted you to come to San Miguel. And how long have you been here?
In the early 2000s, like many people, my partner and I came to San Miguel as tourists and over time were drawn back again and again. In 2017, we ended up buying a home, and we’ve been here ever since, some years more of the year than others – but we consider SMA home.
What are a couple of things that make San Miguel a special place to live?
We’ve lived in Europe over the years, so we are comfortable living outside the United States. We were specifically attracted to living in Mexico because we love the rhythm and the quality of life here, especially in San Miguel - and have easy access to our children and grandchildren in Dallas. Over time, the quality of the community, both the Mexican and expat cultures, have become very important to us.
Can you talk just a little more about the sense of community that you mentioned?
Very quickly we found ourselves meeting like-minded people that we felt very compatible with and relationships started to form. So, it was natural that over time we started to feel part of the community – and that spanned both expats and Mexicanos.
How did you first learn about Caminos’ Work?
Our initial introduction was from an ad or a story in the Atencion about water testing. Our home in Centro had a standard water purification and UV filtration system and I was curious to know how effective it was, or whether we should be doing something additional. So, we made an appointment and a couple of guys from Caminos came over to check our system and collected water samples. They came back some days later and made it clear that harmful bacteria and pathogens were being successfully addressed by our system, but our levels of fluoride and arsenic were higher than what was healthy for us. They recommended we consider buying and installing a reverse osmosis system, which we did. I was impressed with the experience and joined Caminos’ mailing list. From that point on, when Caminos ran campaigns and match challenges, we made donations.
Can you put your finger on what it was that created the transition from being an occasional donor to becoming actively involved?
Over a couple years of reading the materials Caminos emailed, I liked what I was learning and felt well informed. I was excited about what Caminos was doing, especially with rainwater harvesting. They were attacking the problem from several different angles including using technology, community involvement, and a lot of education and training. It was clear that the Caminos team had a really effective model. I thought I would like to become involved and make my prior experiences in fundraising available to Caminos de Agua. I reached out, we began having discussions and I got more excited. I also felt it was time for me to get more involved in the community and there seemed to be good synergy.
Can you explain briefly what the “Clean Water for Life" Campaign is and how it came about?
Good question. There was a growing need in me to feel more involved in the community beyond just writing a check. Somehow, I didn't need to look too far. Caminos spoke to me strongly, and I had a background of building fundraising teams to raise money for causes I believed in. The next step included deepening my knowledge base about Caminos further, which involved some field trips to see Caminos’ work in action, and meeting with a number of board and staff members. At the same time, I reached out to a couple of creative and skillful local friends to build a team. Working with both the team and the leadership of Caminos, we decided to create a campaign that would operate as an independent auxiliary fundraising arm of Caminos and actively reach out to potential donors locally and abroad with the goal of raising $100,000 over a four month period.
Caminos is doing excellent work in a number of areas, but to be effective, we decided to focus tightly on Caminos’ rainwater harvesting program because it’s easy to explain how it works and the benefits are so big and visible. We’ve gotten off to a great start. We have $50,000 pledged from seven donors as a match. So, if we can raise another $50,000 we’ll reach our goal.
Photo: a "meet & greet" event at Hardy Holland's (dressed in blue) house for the Clean Water for Life fundraising campaign. David Frechter, together with Hardy Holland and Margo Beck, are the team behind such an effort.
You visited one of the communities where we do our work fairly recently. Can you share a little of how that experience affected you personally?
That field trip was very impactful for me. Sitting with community members, mostly women and children, and learning how the water crisis affected them, how they organized themselves, went to work with Caminos’ help - and then what the result was; I think it was the moment when I really understood the scope of Caminos on a whole different level. I have worked with other NGOs and social profit organizations in different parts of the world, but to really experience the community members and how they feel about Caminos was very heartfelt. This is very different than suitcase NGOs who come in with a load of money and preconceived solutions. Caminos’ staff really listen thereby gaining trust, helping these communities understand their options, and then guides them towards building sustainable solutions. The Caminos staff is involved every step of the way. The community feels great pride in what they are doing and 100% own the result. I was very moved by witnessing it.
The last question: What's been the most rewarding about doing this work?
I'm a collaborator at heart. That’s what I have done most of my professional life, and in my philanthropic efforts. I have come to feel I am part of Caminos, part of the team I initiated, and in a way part of the communities who we’re raising money for – and to weave it all together into something much bigger than any of us. It doesn‘t get much better!