“It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it,” thought Lucia Medina as she and her husband decided to sell their pig in order to pay their share to have clean water and a bathroom in their home.
Lucia, 24, has lived in the community of La Grecia since she was 13 years old. Growing up, she did not attend school. Instead, her childhood was characterized by making trips carrying a forty-pound bucket of water to her home. Now, as a mother of two daughters, Lucia dreams of a different life for her own children.
Community Partnership
In 2015, Amigos for Christ formed a partnership with the community of La Grecia. This partnership was created with the mutual understanding that it would last for 7 years, and then La Grecia would assume complete ownership of its own projects and community. The goal of the partnership is 5-tiered: to bring a clean water system, develop strong leaders, promote health initiatives, encourage education, and stimulate economic growth to the rural community. The families could not have been more excited about the opportunity for change, but a great deal of sacrifice and hard work was ahead.
The deep-rooted, Amigos for Christ philosophy revolves around the idea of partnership. We work alongside community leaders to provide guidance and technical expertise, but the community owns and operates every project. Each family makes a time and financial commitment to every phase of development, the first phase being a water system.
Making a Sacrifice
Lucia and her husband never imagined that they would have clean water in their home. This opportunity was a dream come true. To fulfill the time and participation commitment to the project, Lucia and her husband eagerly signed up to be a part of the ditch-digging rotation. However, they ran into a difficult question: how would they honor their financial commitment to the water system?
After much thought and prayer, they decided to sell their pig. Pigs and other livestock hold high value in rural Nicaragua. They provide meat, and when bred, a source of income. Lucia and her husband knew that this sacrifice would be an additional financial burden in the short term, but the long-term benefit of having clean water in their home would change their lives forever. Their daughters would no longer suffer from painful parasites or skin disease. The time that was once spent gathering water could now be used to attend school or expand a small business.
Transformation
The result of Lucia’s sacrifice amazed her. God provided an abundance of neighbors and friends who came together and supported her family like never before. The water system was hard work, but the community became family.
