Guadalupe Ramirez – known affectionately as “Don Lupe” by his friends and neighbors – has called the community of Las Pilas home for his entire life, nearly 70 years. He and his wife Doña Freddy, 62, live together in the house where they raised their children, now adults with their own homes and children. In all that time, the idea of having access to clean drinking water 24/7 seemed like a dream.
While Las Pilas did have water access, the network was dated and the well inadequate. At most, they could expect 6 to 7 hours of water a day, and some days there was no running water at all. As a result, Don Lupe and his neighbors often used stored water or water from hand-dug wells, putting themselves at high risk of waterborne illnesses. This unreliable system and the poor health outcomes that resulted felt like an unavoidable part of life for Don Lupe, until he heard that Amigos for Christ was doing clean water projects in the area.
Don Lupe decided to take a leap of faith, advocating for his community to be part of Water for Chinandega. “When the project was approved, all I could say was ‘bendito sea el Señor’ – blessed be the Lord.”
Soon after, Don Lupe was elected the president of the Water & Sanitation committee in Las Pilas. Stepping into this leadership role was transformational for Don Lupe, who witnessed firsthand an amazing change in the community he has lived in his whole life: “The way the community came together to dig ditches for the system surprised me. Everyone had a part to play. It made me so happy to see the community come together like that.”
Together with the Water for Chinandega team, Don Lupe led his community through a transformational season of hard work, dedication, and trust in the Lord as they built their new water system.
“On June 17, our dream became reality – clean drinking water in our community, available 24/7. At 2 in the afternoon, at 1 in the morning – it doesn’t matter what time it is. Any time of day, I can always open the faucet and have water. How amazing is that?”
In addition to the relationships between neighbors, Guadalupe has been changed by the people he met at Amigos for Christ. The project director, the community advocates, the electrical engineer and the infrastructure director: he knows all of them by name. “I didn’t know any of these people before – but we got along so well. They are my friends now. And I am so grateful for the labor of love they did here. From me and from the entire community of Las Pilas, thank you.”
