Central America: Bringing water to families in El Salvador
“The worst cowardice is to stay silent!”- COFOA leader, Ruth Hernández
For a long time, families from the subdivision of La Paz 2 had to travel to the river to wash their clothes. Some women did it by cart and took their children with them, traveling through dangerous streets. Having water is basic for daily life.
Ana Ruth Hernández knows this reality up close. She is a COFOA leader in La Paz 2, a community of approximately 104 residents, where many families still do not have drinking water. Faced with this situation, Ruth decided to join her neighbors and find a solution.
They have been persistently following up with multiple visits and negotiations with the national water company, ANDA, since 2024. At first, they were told to wait. However, Ruth knew that they could not sit idly by. “We were not going to wait. We don’t just think. We act.”
Community persistence brought important advances. ANDA has committed to provide water service to the families who still do not have it. The paper work is nearly done for families to make the payment for their meters and install pipelines. Soon, people will be able to do laundry in their homes.
Ruth first got involved in 2018, mainly because she wanted to get legal title to her home, but since then, she has joined families to improve their living conditions and meet other needs such as improving streets, public lighting, garbage collection and water service.
For Ruth, faith in God is the force that moves her. That faith is expressed in solidarity, empathy and commitment to the needs of other people. It takes organization, persistence, and people willing to seek answers. Ruth’s message for other leaders or communities that are facing challenges: “Be insistent, because the worst cowardice is to stay silent and to stay still.”
You can support Ruth and her team and the hundreds of leadership teams across Latin America by making a donation today. Between now and the end of the year, every donation you make will be matched by our generous friends, Sue and John Sobrato.
