People Like You Make Our Work Possible
Photo: Toxicologist Mariana Cardenas, Ph.D. speaks to Caminos de Agua supporters regarding the health impacts of arsenic and fluoride at an event in 2019.
We’d like to introduce you to Chip & Lucy Swab and Bob & Peggy Krist. They are the two families behind our Match Campaign this month, and we’d like you to know more about why they do it. This month the Swabs and the Krists are matching all contributions to Caminos de Agua up to – USD $10,000 – turning every dollar or peso given into two, creating Twice the Impact. When you learn more about our work and what’s at stake, we hope you’ll join them.
The Upper Rio Laja watershed is experiencing a double crisis of water scarcity and water contaminated with arsenic and fluoride, which is causing serious health effects in the local populations. We’ve tested water that contains up to 23 times the acceptable limit of arsenic, and 12 times the limit for fluoride. These contaminants are causing serious chronic diseases among thousands of people that depend on our aquifer. Dental and skeletal fluorosis, chronic kidney disease, skin lesions, cognitive developmental impairments in children, and many types of cancer are becoming all too common for many people living in the region.
All of us living in this part of the State of Guanajuato who depend on the Rio Laja Aquifer, almost 700,000 in all, from distant rural settlements to plush homes in San Miguel de Allende, are in this together. We are facing a major health and environmental crisis. The dwindling water supply and the contamination of the available water can no longer be ignored. Caminos de Agua is leading the fight to bring clean water to all those affected, but to increase the scope of our work as the need demands, we need the support of people like the Swabs and the Krists and you.
“TO US IT’S NOT A CHARITABLE DONATION, IT’S AN INVESTMENT IN THE COMMUNITY WE LOVE.”
Photo: Chip and Lucy Swab at their home.
Chip and Lucy have made San Miguel de Allende their home for the past several years. For them it’s not only about this town, it’s about the community they love and the need to help it get healthier and stronger. Chip knows the impact of the water crisis in local rural communities all too well through his work with Feed The Hungry, a Caminos de Agua partner organization:
“As part of my volunteer work, I’ve been driving the roads outside of San Miguel for years. Over time, I have seen how these semi-arid highlands have been rapidly converting into vast fields of well-irrigated crops. I have wondered, and worried, what effect agriculture has on the fragile water supply of the many small communities in the region.
I know [now] from my discussions with Caminos de Agua that this is contributing to the water crisis in our area – causing many wells in rural communities to dry up, while also increasing the arsenic and fluoride [levels]. This is seriously threatening the health of so many people in the surrounding communities. ”
Photo: Bob & Peggy Krist.
“THE IMPACT OF THIS WATER CRISIS ON CHILDREN IS SOMETHING WE JUST COULDN’T IGNORE.”
Jonathan Krist, Bob and Peggy’s youngest son, was a talented musician and deeply concerned about social injustice and water issues. As a student leader, he collected band instruments for the disadvantaged and raised money to build wells in Africa. The night before leaving to hike the Appalachian Trail, Jonathan died suddenly in a car accident. In her book, From Grief to Generosity: Honor Your Child By Helping Others, Peggy shares her personal story of loss and the journey that resulted in the Jonathan D. Krist Foundation. In memory of their son, Jonathan’s parents took on the responsibility of continuing his work and vision. Today, the Jonathan D. Krist Foundation has become a referential organization, focusing on the needs of children – helping talented children through music as well as through water solutions.
For Bob & Peggy, giving is about taking care of those who need it the most. They partner with Caminos de Agua because the water crisis disproportionately affects children:
“Arsenic and fluoride are absorbed more easily by children than adults and their bodies suffer the health effects associated with these chemicals much more acutely.”
Together, with the Krist family, we will continue finding ways to collaborate in bringing Jonathan’s mission to life and honor his legacy.
Photo: Child playing near a rainwater harvesting system in the community of Los Ricos.