Clean water will change everything for Luz and her children

Luz del Carmen Santana lives in the community of Don Miquel in the Dominican Republic’s western province of Dajabón. At 45 years old, Luz has lived her entire life without clean water, but that is about to change.

Luz and her two children currently purchase water from a vendor who gathers the water from a local river that is highly contaminated. “We know the water is bad, but we have no choice, so we buy water that makes us sick,” says Luz.

“Our standard of living is very low, and our health suffers greatly because we do not have clean water. But this will all change once the new water system is built.” says Luz.

The gravity-fed system will do more than restore and protect the health of community members like Luz and her two children. It will save Luz and her children as much as $35 CAD a month because they are no longer are forced to buy water from local water vendors. The money – a large sum for families like Luz’s who live on the margins – will be invested in improve living conditions and spark new opportunities.

“As women and mothers, our personal health and hygiene will greatly improve and so will our self-esteem!”, say Luz as she considers the incredible impacts clean water will create in her life and community.