Once they get to school they have to leave class to walk to the stream for something to drink. Instead many kids go the whole day without any water.

They are often sick. They are always thirsty.

Together, we can change this reality for these children.

Why We Focus on Schools

Every water project Water for Waslala builds includes a faucet at the local school. We know children need clean water to thrive. Water is essential for a child to grow properly. By providing access to clean water we are reducing illnesses like diarrhea, lowering child mortality, and reversing the chronic dehydration that keeps these children tired, run down and unable to realize their potential.

When they have access to clean water, kids can spend their time at school learning. They are better able to focus and participate. They grow as they are supposed to.  They have time and energy to play. As we’ve seen in other communities with access to safe water at schools—once they have clean water, children thrive! You can help us make this happen in San Vincente Dipina too.

Clean Water is on the Way

When the people of San Vincente Dipina county came to Water for Waslala and applied for a water system we realized it made the most sense to add them to a system that was already planned for three other counties in the area. When the full Dipina system is complete it will supply clean water to 4 schools, 58 houses, and a total of 370 people, including the children in San Vincente Dipina.

Because the majority of the work has already been done we only need to raise $7,000 to include San Vincente Dipina. If you would like to hep us reach this goal, please click here to make a donation.

Thank you once again to ALL of our walkers, sponsors, volunteers, Villanova University and all of our supporters for making our 9th annual Walk for Water a wonderful event! And if you could not attend, it is not too late to donate and help bring water to another person’s table in Waslala. Simply click HERE.

Well, our 9^th Annual Walk for Water is in the books! We welcomed 287 people to Villanova University for the Walk for Water last Sunday and, together, we raised $23,000 for Waslala. Thank you all so much for your support!!

In addition to sharing the results of our event and some pictures, I wanted to pass along some excerpts of Matt Nespoli’s welcome talk. Matt welcomed everyone to the event with a short intro talk that described how Water for Waslala got started, what we’ve accomplished, and why we continue to focus our energy and resources on this cause.

How we got started…

So, starting from the beginning, Water for Waslala began out of what could be called a two-week backpacking trip to Nicaragua in 2002. I was a sophomore at Villanova, and joined a group of 9 other Villanova students, including Nora Reynolds, our VP who is sitting right here, on a trip to Waslala that summer.

So for me, as a 19 year old kid, all of this way very eye opening, but nothing affected me as much as seeing this: we saw women and children everywhere taking contaminated water from local streams and using it as their drinking water. This is what nearly all Waslalans do to get their water for the day. Now, I don’t know what you think or feel when you [hear this], but for me I can’t look at this photo and not get upset or feel uncomfortable. Seeing this image for me was life-changing, and was the spark that set Water for Waslala into motion.

What we’ve accomplished…

Now, what I want to stress is that Water for Waslala is not about me or about Nora or Justin [Knabb], or any one person. It’s about all of us in this room. It is all of you and the time and money you’ve donated over the years, including today, that have made Water for Waslala successful. All Nora and I had when we started was an idea, as aspiration, a vision. But without all of you stepping up and helping us, we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything. So the success of Water for Waslala is your success – you are the reason 2,500 people in a place 3,000 miles away are drinking clean water outside their homes and schools right now.

So together, we have profoundly improved the lives of a lot of people! Think about 2,500 people – that’s ten times more people than those in this room that are now drinking clean water.

Why?

I wanted to finish by answering the question: why? why should you continue to help the people of Waslala, and this cause as opposed to any other?

To me, it comes down to the following simple values that define Water for Waslala – our core beliefs:

• Responsibility: We believe that we have a responsibility to help the Waslalan people to live with dignity, for one simple reason: the only reason we have clean water to drink and the Waslalan people don’t is because we were born in the US, and they were born in Nicaragua… We believe that this is just unacceptable, and we have a responsibility to give of our resources so they can gain access to the most basic services – like having clean water to drink. This feeling of responsibility is the biggest driver of why Water for Waslala continues today.
• Purpose: we believe that helping others is one of the most fulfilling ways we can use our limited time in life, and we each derive a deep sense of satisfaction and joy serving the people of Waslala.
• Community: we believe that small organizations that are laser focused on understanding and helping with a specific need in a specific area of the world are more effective than organizations that try and solve every problem or help many different groups of needy communities around the world. We also believe that a small group of committed individuals: all of us in this room, is all it takes to create profound change in our world.
• Global triage: We believe that when thinking about who to help in this world, it’s important to focus on the people most in need of help, and on the causes where we can make the biggest difference. Which is why we’ve focused in rural areas of Waslala, some of the poorest places on the planet, and truly a forgotten part of the world. There are very few organizations helping this part of the world, so it is not an exaggeration to say that if we don’t help the people of Waslala with their water crisis, no one likely ever will. Also, we believe it makes sense to focus our limited charitable resources on areas where we can have the biggest bang for our buck, and water is clearly that issue: for $100, the cost of a nice dinner out for two, we can help a Waslalan man, woman or child gain access to clean drinking water for a lifetime – which means that person will no longer have to spend hours every day fetching water, or have to suffer from waterborne illness that negatively affects his efforts in school or on the farm. We believe that this is an investment well worth the cost, and the best issue to focus on for that reason.

I want to thank you again for coming and for supporting us, and I hope to continue to see you at future walk for waters and working with you in other ways to make our dream of ending the water crisis in Waslala a reality.

Lesson #1 when traveling to Waslala: When you search for directions from Managua to Waslala on Google Maps, the result says it will take around 3 hours driving to get there.

Clearly Google has never sent anyone to confirm this!

The other students and I have a good laugh about the ridiculousness of the Google-calculated ETA as we completed our 8 hour bus ride on mostly unpaved roads that took us to Waslala. As I was sitting on the bus heading to Waslala for what would be my 3rd visit, I reflected on how I got to this point in my life.

It all started my sophomore year when my roommate asked me if I was applying for an engineering service trip. I had not given a break trip any consideration prior to that moment, but since I had nothing better to do over break, I decided to submit an application.

I had no idea what to expect on my first trip to Waslala, and I certainly did not expect to fall in love with the community after being there for only one week.

I could tell you all about the engineering work we do, but all of that great information is located in the Water for Waslala Annual Report.  If you have not seen it already, I highly encourage you to check it out. For this post, I would rather tell you about the experiences I have had and the people I have met in Waslala.

There is something magical about Waslala, Nicaragua.

I could spend hours gazing at the night sky. I have never seen that many stars before; it is absolutely breathtaking. (By the way, did you know the stars in Orion’s Belt are known as the three little goats in Nicaragua?)  Waslala itself is a breathtaking region.

The beauty of Waslala endures, but unfortunately, so does the lack of basic needs and plight of its people.

Water for Waslala is a wonderful organization and if you are reading this blog post, odds are you want to help bring water to rural communities because you understand the importance of this cause. My goal is to help transform your thinking from becoming attached to the cause to becoming attached to the individuals of Waslala.

I will never forget on my first trip when we were helping to construct the intake to a water system and one of the community members said to us, “Thank you for making my dream true.” It hit me in that moment how much our presence for just one week meant to these people and the impact it had on their daily lives.

When I arrived on my second trip, I was greeted by Virginia Leiba, someone I spent some time working with the year before. I did not expect her to remember me as we only spent a few days together, but she gave me a huge hug and kiss when she saw me. In that moment it was clear that Virginia remembered me and that meant a lot to me.  Even though we had only spent such limited time together a year before, it was touching to know that time was meaningful to both of us.

Villanova University has a beautiful relationship with Waslala. It is always amusing to ride around the center of town and see Waslalan after Waslalan wearing Villanova t-shirts and Walk for Water shirts — evidence of the close relationship between the two communities. I had learned too that after Hurricane Katrina hit the United States in 2005, the community in Waslala wanted to send money to the US to help because of the close relationship they have with the Americans at Villanova. To me it is a true testament of the amazing character of this community. These people do not have running water and electricity, yet they donated whatever amount of money they could to help others in need.

I have so much respect and admiration for the people we work with in Waslala. The 40 yr civil war in Nicaragua was very active in Waslala and after spending time there, you learn how it had a huge impact on the lives of its people. Most of the people we work with on water projects were involved in the war in some way and each has his/her stories they carry with them. One person in particular is a true inspiration to me: Denis Taleno.  He worked construction starting at 12 years old and when he was 14 his father enlisted him in the war. Now, Taleno has dedicated his life to providing water to his community. It is amazing to see his passion for improving quality of life.

Going to Waslala has helped me define who I am as a person and what I want to become. It has given my life direction and my education at school a purpose and meaning.

My professors are amazing, but there are things I have learned from Waslala that I could never have learned in a classroom. Community is a critical part of Waslala and they have taught me a lot about the importance of community in my life and being there for others. These water projects mean everything to the people in Waslala and they trust in the relationship between our two communities.

The profound words of the community member I had met on my first trip still ring true today: “We are helping each other make our dreams come true.”

Today is World Water Day- a day to celebrate the gift of water in our lives and, most importantly, to draw attention to the importance of clean water for public health.

You should circle this special day on your calendar each year. This international day of recognition has been held on this day since 1992, when it was launched at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Each year since, the UN has chosen different themes that highlight the wide range of ways that water impacts our lives.

Take this one day out of your year to reflect for a moment on how important water is in your daily life. Encourage your friends on Facebook to think about water today too. Let’s stop to think about how water refreshes us, how water keeps us healthy, and how water truly is a foundation for life on this earth. Water is a foundation of our lives… it is a foundation of your life.

Yet nearly 800 million people on earth live without access to clean water. Tens of thousands in Waslala, Nicaragua– the specific region that Water for Waslala supports– live without access to clean water.

Let’s reflect and focus on water TODAY… and consider helping us help others to have the gift of water EVERY DAY.

Here are 10 specific ways that you can learn about water, better save water, and ACT to help others gain access to clean water today.

1. Check out the United Nations website about World Water Day. I linked to some of the UN pages above, but it’s definitely worth mentioning again. The UN site is very well-done–it’s informative, filled with excellent and reputable facts, and the UN deserves tremendous praise for drawing focus to the important issues relating to water.

2. Know your facts about the World Water Crisis. The infographics at Water.org are sobering and straight-forward, but really put the crisis into perspective.

3. Understand the relationship between sanitation and water. As easy as it can be to take clean drinking water for granted in the United States, it’s also easy to take for granted the bathrooms and sanitary water that we utilize several times each and every day.  It’s not as simple for people living in impoverished, underdeveloped regions. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation focuses heavily on this issue. Sanitation affects close to a billion people spanning from Waslala to Nairobi to New Delhi.

4. Watch a water documentary. Do a search for “water” on your Netflix or Amazon Instant Video this weekend. Here are some excellent and highly-acclaimed films worth watching:

• FLOW- this documentary dives into the hot-topic political and environmental issues intertwined with the World Water Crisis. 
• Tapped- impossible to walk away without forming opinions on the role and impact of bottled water in our world and in our own lives.
• Blue Gold: World Water Wars- as with the other films, you’ll get a heavy dose of politics here.  But certainly the water crisis is real… very real. Watch and form your own opinion(s)!
• Or do you have just 6-7 minutes instead of 2 hours? Then learn all about our Water for Waslala charity HERE.

5. Read our Annual Report. Take a few minutes and learn about the great strides that Water for Waslala has made this past year and the past 9 years. We continue to improve upon our traditional gravity-fed water systems that have provided clean drinking water to 2,500 people strong (to-date). Last year we first implemented ferrocement technology to better fortify and control the cost of our systems. And this year we’ll be distributing ceramic filters to individual homes for the first time.

6. Check out some other technologies that are helping people around the globe. Water for Waslala implements technology that meet Waslala community goal and budget, but it’s interesting and encouraging to look at other inventions that are being utilized in different regions around the world. Lifestraw, SteriPEN, Midomo, Lifesaver Bottle, and Lifesaver Jerrycan are a handful of amazing innovations that are all helping to improve public health.

7. Take steps to save water in your home. WholeLiving.com offers 50 potential ways to be a better water consumer.

8. Pledge to limit your access to water for a day. You’ll quickly realize how water is such a key part of each and every day. Follow the lead of Villanova University students, who pick a day each year to host “Water Awareness Day” on the college campus.  
Participating students commit to servicing all their water needs from just ONE source… much like the people living in Waslala and millions more around the world. Limit your own water needs for a day and internalize just how precious and valuable a clean water access point really is!

9. Like us on Facebook and help promote us. The easiest step yet to make a difference. Just a 2 step process… click HERE, and then hit the LIKE button. Join our community and help us raise the awareness and funds to truly help people live healthier lives.

10. Now that you’re a member of our community (welcome aboard), help Water for Waslala any way you can. One simple, concrete and FUN way is to participate in our upcoming Walk for Water at Villanova University on April 14. Sign up here, recruit a team, or if you can’t make it, donate or sponsor our event. Walk to help change the world, one faucet at a time.

Happy World Water Day!

The 2012 Water for Waslala Annual Report is here!  Click here to view and download the full report.

Since I’m new to Water for Waslala this was my first experience working on the Annual Report and I was so amazed at all the wonderful information we have to share!

Of course, none of the great work we talk about would be possible without the support of our donors and volunteers.  This report really is for you.  It’s our opportunity to bring Waslala to you!

We invite you to read it thoroughly to get a deeper understanding of what Water for Waslala is all about, who we serve, and how your involvement is making an impact.  Of course, feel free to jump around to different sections to access the information that matters most to you!

When you read the report you will be able to:

• Relive our major accomplishments from 2012 (pg 27) and share our BIG vision for 2013 (pg 46)
• Answer the questions Why Water? and Why Waslala? (pg 7)
• Read personal stories about the people whose lives are changing every day (pg 4 and 34)
• Learn about our new strategic nonprofit partnership in Waslala (pg 16)
• Fully understand our sustainable, community-driven approach (pg 19)
• See the impact your donation can have (pg 51)
• Check out our financials (pg 36)

The report is full of beautiful pictures and helpful diagrams that allow us to connect you to the people of Waslala.  They are people who are very grateful for your support and willingness to help them achieve the dream of clean, safe water.

Thank you again for all that you do to help us change the world…one faucet at a time!

-Dawn Epstein, Executive Director

Early morning hike in Waslala, Nicaragua

I remember first hearing about Water for Waslala and becoming instantly fascinated with the mission of this organization.  Their work seemed like a mix of Indiana Jones and what I was learning in the classroom at Villanova.

I’ve been fortunate to have had some Indiana Jones-like moments in my career thus far — I’ve served as a human test dummy for NASA Space Suits and have helped build subsea oil well control structures.  Right along with those experiences, however, I can honestly say that my role in helping to design a water system for the Zinica #1 community in Waslala with my senior design team is among the single greatest technical achievements I have ever been a part of.

Seeing photos of children, their mothers, and grandmothers getting water from the tap stand reminds me how fortunate we are in the United States, and how different life is for those living in the developing world.

I went to Waslala in the Spring of 2006 anticipating just how much this experience might transform my life. It turned out to be more enlightening than I had even imagined.

I became close friends with the guys on the trip, especially after spending a week together removed from conveniences of the regular American world of which we were so familiar. I was also surprised that I managed to  figure out what I was supposed to be learning in Fluid Dynamics without the use of a computer or a calculator.  Beyond the friendship, learning, and high adventure, I’m convinced a greater force was at work the entire time.

Padre Nelson, the parish priest, did not speak any English — and while I did not speak any Spanish, I felt a deep connection with him and the people of Waslala as the week progressed. He opened us to the challenges that the people felt every day.  For example, at one point we had turned up no viable water sources for one of the communities.  The families were traveling for miles and children would often spend an entire day carrying containers of water back and forth, missing school in the process.  We passed a farmer on the way back to town who had initially refused to share his spring water.  After all, “It was barely enough for his farm.”

But then Nelson delivered a sermon that I’ll never forget.  We all listened on the side of the mountain as Nelson explained how Jesus gave to the poor, welcomed the children into his arms, and how God provided and Jesus fed the 5,000 when the apostles thought it could never be done.  For a moment I felt as if I were transported back to the dawn of Christianity, when the apostles heard the Sermon on the Mount, and there was a great stirring in my heart.

The farmer no doubt felt this as well, as he agreed to share his water.  I realized at that moment the Holy Spirit was speaking to me on my own Mount, calling me to help in a greater way than I had been called before.  I felt ashamed that I had not heard it before.  I wrote a letter to Padre Nelson about the spiritual transformation I underwent, and I was told he read my letter in his radio address that Sunday after we left.

I left Managua to return to Villanova convinced to continue– more than anything else — my spiritual journey in the Catholic Church in a much more involved way.  After hearing so many Biblical stories of God speaking to man, the doctors of the church, and the saints, I knew he was speaking to me.

And, I finally heard him.

I may never have my name enscribed on any foundation for the work I have done for Waslala, but what Waslala gave me was far greater than what I did for her.

It is with much hope that I ask: “St. Augustine, Pray for her!“

It is amazing how numb we have become to the fact that we have fresh, clean water at our fingertips.  I’ll never forget being at a conference in Colorado and having a foreigner ask, “Is the water safe to drink in this hotel?”  The question seemed, frankly, absurd and so far from my mind that I didn’t have a response at first.  But then I remember my time in Nicaragua.

There, we’d take full day trips by foot and horseback through tropical hills and jungles to villages where the water served to us was as brown as iced tea.  No 9-1-1 for help.  No social services.  Just the supplies on your back, companions by your side, and a canteen of clean, fresh water worth more than gold strapped to your belt.  It’s a humbling experience like no other.

Kevin Woods and friends during their trip to Waslala with Villanova University

It’s not that the people of Waslala don’t have water.  Quite the opposite actually- there is plenty of fresh water.  It’s simply non-potable.  Something a simple sand filtration, and chlorination system will remedy.  In most of the communities there is little technical know-how,  no electricity, no hardware store (within a days walk), and not much economic activity.  The supplies available are limited to the basics and you must design a cost effective, serviceable, continuously working water supply system.  That is your engineering task while in Nicaragua.

I will carry my experience in Nicaragua with me forever and would encourage any person to volunteer down there.  However, this isn’t a one day trip to paint a wall or feed the homeless.  This is a multi-semester investment of time and effort to provide living conditions to people that are significantly better than their current situation.

If you’re up for the task, I encourage you to join me and the Water for Waslala team to make a difference!

Kevin Woods earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University in 2012.  Kevin currently works as a Research Engineer for the United States Office of Naval Research.

Because we are a virtual organization, with no physical office space in the US, our website is literally our home. Our success as an organization depends on how well we communicate our mission and our impacts with our supporters on our website. Which is why this volunteer position is so critical to our organizational success, and so exciting for those looking to apply their skills to a great volunteer opportunity!

Do you have – or know anyone that has – a creative side, experience with creating and editing images in Photoshop, and knowledge of the technical side of website management: the WordPress CMS, SEO, and basic languages like ASP, PHP, and JS?

And do you want to put those skills to use to help a non-profit with an exciting mission to end the water crisis for 60,000 men, women and children in Nicaragua?

Finally, do you have 1-2 hours a week to volunteer from home?

Then check out our volunteer description for more information, and send us an email today!

Executive Director, Dawn Epstein

Happy New Year!

It’s hard to believe that it was only a few short months ago that our founder, Matt Nespoli, was writing about building a new Water for Waslala and now here I am writing my first blog post as the Executive Director!

As you may have seen in Matt’s most recent newsletter, Water for Waslala has grown significantly in the last year and we have ambitious plans to help more people in 2013 than we’ve helped in the last eight years – combined! So I am here to help us achieve these goals in both the US and Waslala by managing our day-to-day US operations, scaling our fundraising program, and improving communication with our donors and supporters in the US.

I’ve worked in nonprofits and fundraising for over six years and I am really excited to join Water for Waslala. Check out my bio here.

There’s something special about this organization that I can’t quite articulate. Maybe it’s the laser-focused mission and the sense of urgency to solve this crisis, while insisting on doing community-supported, sustainable work. Maybe it’s the compelling story of how it all started with a group of college kids on a trip who decided to take a need they saw and do something about it. Or maybe it’s the simple fact that for about $100 you can literally change the course of someone’s life by providing access to clean drinking water. I don’t know for sure, but whatever it is, I’m honored to be a part of it.

At the end of January I’ll be making my first trip to Waslala and I can’t wait to see our work first-hand. From what I’ve heard, I’m in for an adventure and I’m really excited!

Have you been to Waslala? Do you have a great Waslala memory to share? What’s your advice for a first-timer like me?