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Water Projects - 080190 Water Projects

Persistence pays in getting safe water to rural Salvadorans

by Ken Morrill, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) project manager in El Salvador

February, 2015—In November 2011, Samaritan’s Purse hosted  its first eyeglass clinic in El Salvador. During the clinic days in Tihuilocoy (where we were also installing BioSand Water Filters at the time), a woman named Margot approached me and asked if her community, Colonia San Jose, could have filters too, since their water was very bad.

We had already committed to a number of other communities and I didn’t know when we might be able to bring filters to Colonia San Jose. Nevertheless, I took her phone number, and gave her mine.

Margot called me like clockwork every month! Over a year later, our team was finally able to meet with her to discuss bringing BioSand Water Filters to her village.

We met at her house, and she showed us not only how her community but also several others were in need of filters. We started our work that summer, and last spring Margot’s own filter was installed in her home.

It was wonderful working in Colonia San Jose. Months later, the community has set the standard for excellent filter use, implementation of tippy taps (simple hand-washing stations), and more.

Margot went above and beyond. Not only did she host all of our filter-related training sessions, but she also hosted our evangelistic movie nights and held our discipleship classes in her home. In the photo above, Margot is receiving her graduation certificate from our discipleship class.

Margot’s persistence not only provided filters for her community, but brought our team into contact with six other communities  where we installed more than 500 filters.

Water Projects - 080190 Water Projects

Save the life of a child or adult in a developing country by providing safe water along with health and hygiene education that will help protect them from deadly, but preventable, diseases. Simple and effective water filters, community wells and water storage solutions, and sanitation facilities can all drastically improve lives and open doors to share the eternal hope of Jesus Christ.