Latin America News
Land Mismanagement and Climate Change: The Impact on Rural Nicaragua and El Porvenir’s Response
Posted September 17, 2019
Latin America Strategy
Posted July 19, 2017
MWA Latin America Regional Mapping and Scoping
December 21, 2016 – In 2016, MWA prioritized the development of a Regional Strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). To analyze where the Alliance is best placed to achieve impact in the region, two studies were conducted with representatives from each member organization. The first was a Mapping Study to assess work of MWA members in the region based on geographic spread, intervention type, main audience, key outcomes, regional investments, and overall impacts. The second study was a Scoping Study to assess the regional WASH to determine where MWA is best placed to have collective impact. Click below to see both studies.
New Water Association is First for Drought-Stricken Community of Indigenous People in Colombia
Multiple Partners Join Celebration for Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation for 8,000 People in Traditional Communities of La Guajira
Maicao, Colombia, August 16, 2015 – Nearly 250 members of the traditional indigenous Wayúu people in the Colombian Department of La Guajira celebrated the official establishment of their first-ever community water association, recognized by the Colombian government as the authority for new water and sanitation services in an area where thousands have endured three years of unprecedented drought, with the last significant rainfall occurring nearly nine months ago.
More than 8,000 people in communities in this remote and dusty area along Colombia’s arid north coast have benefited from a nearly three-year-old partnership with Aguayuda, a nonprofit water, sanitation and hygiene organization based in Colombia and the United States, Coca-Cola Latin America, and The FEMSA Foundation based in Mexico. Together, these partners work under Lazos de Agua, a five-country program in Latin America coordinated by the Millennium Water Alliance funded primarily by Coca-Cola and The FEMSA Foundation. Representatives of each of these partners attended Sunday’s launch event, coming from the US, Mexico, and the Colombian capital of Bogota.
The program in La Guajira includes new and rehabilitated wells, pumps, filtration systems, windmills, solar panels, and compost latrines, along with water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) education led by Aguayuda with the constant involvement of the Wayúu communities, including the three in this association – Kasichi, Wayumana, and La Parcela.
Recognition by the Colombian government of the association, known as ASOAKAWAPA (Asociación de Agua de Kasichi, Wayumana y La Parcela), is the result of years of work, and signals that benefits will grow in the future with local residents taking more responsibility in partnership with government to ensure sustainable long-term service.
“We have accompanied the Wayúu communities in the whole process of creation, development and legalization of this association,” said Simón Zimmer, Program Director and co-founder of Aguayuda. “For us, it is essential to ensure the sustainability of our social investments,” said Juan Sebastián Jiménez of Coca -Cola FEMSA – Colombia. “The best way to achieve this is that communities, like the three in this association, get involved and take ownership of the project. Being empowered in this way puts their development and that of their families into their own hands, and ensures continued benefits in the future.”
The progress of the program is publicly available and can be viewed in real time via an online platform called Really Simple Reporting (RSR). The program uses an observation system in the field called “FLOW” to collect, manage, analyze and display information.
Aguayuda is a member of the Millennium Water Alliance, a consortium of 16 leading non-governmental organizations working in Latin America, Africa, and Asia to help bring safe drinking water and sanitation to millions of people in partnership with communities, governments, corporations, and foundations.
Contact:
John Sparks, MWA john.sparks@mwawater.org 202-296-1833 (US)
Bill Weaver, Aguayuda bweaver@aguayuda.org
Simón Zimmer, Aguayuda szimmer@aguayuda.org
CARE Guatemala Celebrates Progress in Another Community in Lazos de Agua
See these links for information on events recognizing World Water Day 2015:
Links on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Care-Guatemala/1538259016417467?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
CARE, Coca-Cola, FEMSA and MWA Join Community to Inaugurate New System for 2,000 People
See this new video on the inauguration event in Guatemala in December for the new safe drinking water system for two communities in the Lazos de Agua program funded by Coca-Cola Latin America, The FEMSA Foundation, and CARE-Guatemala; the impact of this program is easy to see! Lazos de Agua is a three-year WASH program working in five countries, managed by Millennium Water Alliance with six implementing members (CARE, Aguayuda, Living Water, WaterAid, Water For People, and World Vision).
Lazos de Agua Brings Clean Water to Seven Rural Communities in Mexico
December 23, 2014 – In 2014, Living Water Mexico completed a total of 21 water projects, utilizing various water technologies such as elevated storage tanks, spring boxes, community cisterns, and piped water distribution systems. These 21 projects will directly benefit 9,139 beneficiaries throughout communities in Puebla and Oaxaca.
Prior to each water system implementation, LWI community engagement staff established water committees—small groups consisting of approximately five or eight volunteer community members—who were then trained on appropriate monitoring and upkeep of the planned water systems.
This table shows the progress made in 21 projects in Puebla and Oaxaca as of autumn 2014:
COMMUNITIES AND WATER POINTS FOR PUEBLA
|
COMMUNITY |
WATER POINT TYPE |
DIRECT BENEFICIARIES |
|
Tepenene |
Elevated water tank |
750 |
|
Tepenene |
Spring box |
200 |
|
El Potrero |
Central community cistern |
100 |
|
Junta Auxiliar Teotimehuacan La Cantera |
Spring box |
550 |
|
Junta Auxiliar Teotimehuacan La Cantera |
Water tank |
100 |
|
1,700 |
COMMUNITIES AND WATER POINTS FOR OAXACA
|
COMMUNITY |
WATER POINT TYPE |
DIRECT BENEFICIARIES |
|
San Isidro Vista Hermosa |
Distribution tank |
850 |
|
Cabecera municipal y Ojo de Agua. Cruz Nuday y Nhu-Cuá |
Spring box and distribution tank |
1,015 |
|
La Cumbre |
Distribution tank |
750 |
|
Yucuiji |
Distribution tank |
300 |
|
Rio Florido Sosola |
Distribution tank |
320 |
|
Santa Lucía Sosola |
Distribution tank |
300 |
|
San Mateo Sosola |
Source protection |
434 |
|
San Mateo Sosola |
Chlorination tank |
700 |
|
Minas Llano Verde |
Distribution tank |
300 |
|
El Progreso-El Parián-Llano Verde |
Spring box |
500 |
|
Santa María Tejotepec |
Distribution tank |
320 |
|
La Ciénega |
Distribution tank |
350 |
|
Cieneguilla |
Distribution tank |
400 |
|
Colonia Bicentenario de la Independencia |
Spring box |
450 |
|
Colonia Bicentenario de la Independencia |
Spring box |
450 |
|
7,439 |
In addition to the water systems, Living Water Mexico distributed 1,120 Sawyer point-of-use water filters to communities that we had previously worked with in 2013. Team members worked with the households to ensure the filters were properly installed and used.
Also during this period, the Living Water Mexico hygiene and sanitation teams continued to facilitate Community Care Groups (CCGs) in each community discussing hygiene and sanitation topics such as disease transmission, safe water transportation and storage, treatment for dehydration/diarrhea using oral rehydration solution and proper disposal of feces.
To date, there are 126 CCG volunteers in Puebla and 188 in the state of Oaxaca. The LWI hygiene team taught PHAST (participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation) lessons in schools in Oaxaca and Puebla.
LWI is one of six implementing organizations working in five countries under the Lazos de Agua program of the Millennium Water Alliance: Aguayuda (Colombia), CARE (Guatemala), Water For People (Honduras), and LWI and World Vision both working in different areas of Mexico. The implementers matched major funding provided by Coca-Cola Latin America and The FEMSA Foundation to create and carry out the three-year Lazos de Agua program.
– Sara Olivieri and Lael Kucera