Women and children often walk miles to get fresh water.

“The earth is facing a serious water crisis. All signs suggest that it’s getting worse and will continue to do so, unless corrective action is taken.”
This is an opening statement from the United Nations World Water Development Report, released last year.
The report goes on to say, “The real tragedy is the effect it has on the everyday lives of poor people, who are blighted by the burden of water-related disease, living in degraded and often dangerous environments, struggling to get an education for their children, and to earn a living, and to get enough to eat.”
Niagara’s Ted van der Zalm and the Wells of Hope team has chosen the mountains of Guatemala as a place to make their stand. It’s an area where the “real tragedy” is evident every day.
Last week’s story on the team’s effort to provide water detailed two drilling rigs that had ground to a halt. But this week the news has brightened.

“The pump was installed in our first drill site and the villagers were thrilled as water gushed from the well,” van der Zalm told Niagara this Week. In addition, the first rig is repaired and has resumed drilling. A fourth well will be completed this week. The replacement parts for the second rig have arrived in Guatemala and are expected to reach the base camp in the mountains above Jalapa soon.

These children were among those who watch, the drilling and wait for water.

In addition, “The pilot garden employing the sweat hose irrigation technique has been constructed and the villagers are excited about the possibilities it brings,” van der Zalm said.
While the country enjoys a year-long growing season, the mountain regions can only produce one crop yearly, as the fresh water dries soon after the rainy season.
If the Wells of Hope team is successful, larger and more diverse crops will provide the edge needed to close the gap between survival and prosperity.
But van der Zalm also had another dream. He had a vision of providing Canadian students with first-hand understanding of what it’s like to bring in enough food and water just to get through another day. That part of the vision began to be realized just before Christmas.
Catholic secondary school students Ryan Griffin, Chanda Meloche, Mike Van Ruyven, Katharyn Stanclik, Amanda Holder, Berri Laws, Ketrina Bell, Suzanne Pierre, Apryl Gill and Caitlin English, made the trip to Jalapa under the guidance of teachers Scott Maxwell and Michelle Montesi. While there, the teens saw women and children walk many miles carrying jugs of water on their heads while men and teens harvested corn and young boys chopped wood with machetes.
But they didn’t just watch. The students rolled up their sleeves and carried soil to construct the test garden. They taught English and crafts in one room schools, they helped with the construction of the two new schools the Wells of Hope team is building and they painted a local clinic.
“Guatemala has truly been the ultimate adventure. It has challenged me to approach life in a different way. I have been inspired by the extraordinary people I have had the privilege to meet,” said student Caitlin English, while Amanda Holder noted, “I have learned firsthand the hardships that the people here go through. I will forever remember the welcoming people and the many thank-yous we received.”
But the saga is far from over. The three wells completed, and two more on the verge of completion, is below what van der Zalm planned for the past three years.
Setbacks mean fundraising must continue to sustain the project and approach the goal of supplying 30 villages with water. The education of Niagara students will also resume, as other students are set to make the journey.
In the meantime the Wells of Hope team continues its efforts to find the world's most precious resource.
To follow the team’s progress or to help visit www.warehouseofhope.com or e-mail spirit@warehouseofhope.com.

Water for People

American Water Works Association

Canadian Water Quality and Health

Visit the Niagara Warehouse of Hope

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