Water for People in Mactzul II
Donation protected
GOAL: To raise $56,000 to fund a water project for the people of Mactzul II in Guatemala.
My name is Rebecca Moczulewski. My family and I live in New Berlin, Wisconsin. In August of 2016, my sixteen year-old daughter Mary and I made a trip to Guatemala. Among our reasons for making this trip, Mary wanted to have an immersion experience using Spanish, which she has been studying for four years. During this trip, we were fortunate to visit the community of Mactzul II, which is one of ten Mayan villages on the waiting list to receive funding for a water project from Global Partners: Running Waters. (This fall will mark five years that I have been a board member of this organization.) Mactzul is a village of 180 Mayan families. They have waited for ten years for the government and other groups to fund a water system that would provide clean water. But it has never happened and is unlikely to become a reality without more help. Because of this trip and the people we met, I will never think about communities like this in the same way. They are not casually waiting—but desperately hoping—that they will one day have clean water for their children and families. Consequently, I feel a new urgency to raise money to meet the basic need of water for the communities on our waiting list. The people we met are in such great need and suffer much. Below is an entry from the journal I kept during the trip.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Today, we traveled to meet about 70 members of the Mactzul II community, in Santa Cruz. We traveled by bus up into the mountains for 45 minutes, sometimes up steep, muddy dirt roads. When we came upon the rural area they had traveled to to meet us, they welcomed us and invited us to sit down under a shelter. After their president of the water committee formally welcomed us, each member of the water committee introduced himself and explained his role. Next, the entire group was invited to pray and give thanks to God in our own words, in our own language. Many from their community wholeheartedly broke into song and chanting in K’iche, their native language—a remarkable experience to witness. After this communal prayer, they gave each of us a bottle of water. The generosity of this particular gesture of their hospitality, given their situation, was lost on no one from our group.
Next, we heard from various members of the community about why they needed a water project. Among the women who spoke, one mother explained that they had come for their children, who need clean water for their health. Another woman told about the community’s digestive problems. Vomiting and diarrhea are common, as are parasites from drinking contaminated water. She explained that children miss an average of three days of school a month because of these ailments. I thought about the dreadful days that my daughters endured the flu when they were very young and about the “perpetual flu season” that this community endures. A third woman described how she and the other women meet their families’ daily needs for water. Long ago—before climate change—rain was more plentiful and they would collect it. The walk to the river, on the other hand—where they gather water for drinking and cooking—takes 1 1/2 hours (one way). On the days that they wash the clothes, they stay there all day because the laundry is too heavy to carry when wet.
A few men gave testimonies as well. One man explained that he is strong, but that he is most concerned about the elderly and the very young, who suffer most. Another gentleman shared that he has waited for clean water his whole life—for forty years. He said that it is especially difficult for him when his children ask him how much longer it will be. Another man explained that everything is prepared, including the bricks needed for the project. The many steps of the process to build a water project, (which this community started ten years ago), have been completed and now they just need funding. A man named Jorge explained the steps that a village takes to obtain a water project:
1. Forming a water committee that will represent the village.
2. Finding a fresh water source—a stream in the highlands.
3. The engineers from the Asociacion Unidos Por la Vida evaluate the water source. They measure and determine if it’s sufficient for the whole village. There are 180 families in the Mactzul II community, roughly 8 per family.
4. Ownership of the land must be considered. They must negotiate a plan if they do not own the land. In this case, they do own the land.
5. The engineers create a technical plan and determine the cost. The cost of the water project for Mactzul is $56,000.
6. Funding the project to purchase the necessary supplies. The men in the village do the labor, under the guidance of the Asociacion. Usually, women and children from the village make meals for the workers.
Once everyone who wanted to speak from the Mactzul II community had a chance, each member of our group took a turn introducing him or herself and commenting on what we had heard. I promised them that I would work hard to share their stories at my home in the United States.
After the presentation concluded, we asked if we could take some pictures of the children. It broke my heart that a very little boy started crying when I was asked to join the group having their picture taken. One of the women in our group said that he probably thought I was going to give him an immunization!
My daughter Mary had volunteered ahead of time to address the community to thank them for their hospitality. She also told them that she was certain that they would receive funding soon. In a symbolic gesture, she gave her bottle of water, (which she had not yet opened), to a 3 or 4 year-old girl named Herlinda and said: “Beginning with Herlinda, you will have clean water.” I was proud of her, but also concerned about the responsibility to help that possibility become a reality.
Despite having returned to my comfortable life in Wisconsin, I will not stop thinking about my new acquaintances until they have clean water to drink and take care of their families. One of the most memorable speakers from the Mactzul community told us that they have been promised funding from many other groups during the ten years since they started the process to build a water project, but the funding never comes. Though they have been very discouraged and sometimes lose hope, they are hopeful that we might be able to help them. Please join me in hoping that this time it will be different! Please consider making a contribution to make clean water a reality for the people of Mactzul! Thank you for your kindness and generosity!
NOTE: 100% of every dollar raised through this GoFundMe campaign will go directly to the water project for Mactzul II.
Global Parnters: Running Waters is a supported ministry of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and is also run by volunteers. Though this Non-Profit enjoys a high level of accountability, we are a small, grassroots organization in the process of growth. Once on our waiting list for a water project, communities in Latin America may wait years for funding to come through, after likely having waited for a long time before seeking our help—
so every donation helps!
Please see the Global Partners: Running Waters website: www.globalpartnersrunningwaters.org for more information or to contact us.
My name is Rebecca Moczulewski. My family and I live in New Berlin, Wisconsin. In August of 2016, my sixteen year-old daughter Mary and I made a trip to Guatemala. Among our reasons for making this trip, Mary wanted to have an immersion experience using Spanish, which she has been studying for four years. During this trip, we were fortunate to visit the community of Mactzul II, which is one of ten Mayan villages on the waiting list to receive funding for a water project from Global Partners: Running Waters. (This fall will mark five years that I have been a board member of this organization.) Mactzul is a village of 180 Mayan families. They have waited for ten years for the government and other groups to fund a water system that would provide clean water. But it has never happened and is unlikely to become a reality without more help. Because of this trip and the people we met, I will never think about communities like this in the same way. They are not casually waiting—but desperately hoping—that they will one day have clean water for their children and families. Consequently, I feel a new urgency to raise money to meet the basic need of water for the communities on our waiting list. The people we met are in such great need and suffer much. Below is an entry from the journal I kept during the trip.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Today, we traveled to meet about 70 members of the Mactzul II community, in Santa Cruz. We traveled by bus up into the mountains for 45 minutes, sometimes up steep, muddy dirt roads. When we came upon the rural area they had traveled to to meet us, they welcomed us and invited us to sit down under a shelter. After their president of the water committee formally welcomed us, each member of the water committee introduced himself and explained his role. Next, the entire group was invited to pray and give thanks to God in our own words, in our own language. Many from their community wholeheartedly broke into song and chanting in K’iche, their native language—a remarkable experience to witness. After this communal prayer, they gave each of us a bottle of water. The generosity of this particular gesture of their hospitality, given their situation, was lost on no one from our group.
Next, we heard from various members of the community about why they needed a water project. Among the women who spoke, one mother explained that they had come for their children, who need clean water for their health. Another woman told about the community’s digestive problems. Vomiting and diarrhea are common, as are parasites from drinking contaminated water. She explained that children miss an average of three days of school a month because of these ailments. I thought about the dreadful days that my daughters endured the flu when they were very young and about the “perpetual flu season” that this community endures. A third woman described how she and the other women meet their families’ daily needs for water. Long ago—before climate change—rain was more plentiful and they would collect it. The walk to the river, on the other hand—where they gather water for drinking and cooking—takes 1 1/2 hours (one way). On the days that they wash the clothes, they stay there all day because the laundry is too heavy to carry when wet.
A few men gave testimonies as well. One man explained that he is strong, but that he is most concerned about the elderly and the very young, who suffer most. Another gentleman shared that he has waited for clean water his whole life—for forty years. He said that it is especially difficult for him when his children ask him how much longer it will be. Another man explained that everything is prepared, including the bricks needed for the project. The many steps of the process to build a water project, (which this community started ten years ago), have been completed and now they just need funding. A man named Jorge explained the steps that a village takes to obtain a water project:
1. Forming a water committee that will represent the village.
2. Finding a fresh water source—a stream in the highlands.
3. The engineers from the Asociacion Unidos Por la Vida evaluate the water source. They measure and determine if it’s sufficient for the whole village. There are 180 families in the Mactzul II community, roughly 8 per family.
4. Ownership of the land must be considered. They must negotiate a plan if they do not own the land. In this case, they do own the land.
5. The engineers create a technical plan and determine the cost. The cost of the water project for Mactzul is $56,000.
6. Funding the project to purchase the necessary supplies. The men in the village do the labor, under the guidance of the Asociacion. Usually, women and children from the village make meals for the workers.
Once everyone who wanted to speak from the Mactzul II community had a chance, each member of our group took a turn introducing him or herself and commenting on what we had heard. I promised them that I would work hard to share their stories at my home in the United States.
After the presentation concluded, we asked if we could take some pictures of the children. It broke my heart that a very little boy started crying when I was asked to join the group having their picture taken. One of the women in our group said that he probably thought I was going to give him an immunization!
My daughter Mary had volunteered ahead of time to address the community to thank them for their hospitality. She also told them that she was certain that they would receive funding soon. In a symbolic gesture, she gave her bottle of water, (which she had not yet opened), to a 3 or 4 year-old girl named Herlinda and said: “Beginning with Herlinda, you will have clean water.” I was proud of her, but also concerned about the responsibility to help that possibility become a reality.
Despite having returned to my comfortable life in Wisconsin, I will not stop thinking about my new acquaintances until they have clean water to drink and take care of their families. One of the most memorable speakers from the Mactzul community told us that they have been promised funding from many other groups during the ten years since they started the process to build a water project, but the funding never comes. Though they have been very discouraged and sometimes lose hope, they are hopeful that we might be able to help them. Please join me in hoping that this time it will be different! Please consider making a contribution to make clean water a reality for the people of Mactzul! Thank you for your kindness and generosity!
NOTE: 100% of every dollar raised through this GoFundMe campaign will go directly to the water project for Mactzul II.
Global Parnters: Running Waters is a supported ministry of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and is also run by volunteers. Though this Non-Profit enjoys a high level of accountability, we are a small, grassroots organization in the process of growth. Once on our waiting list for a water project, communities in Latin America may wait years for funding to come through, after likely having waited for a long time before seeking our help—
so every donation helps!
Please see the Global Partners: Running Waters website: www.globalpartnersrunningwaters.org for more information or to contact us.
Organizer and beneficiary
Rebecca Moczulewski
Organizer
New Berlin, WI
Sister Jan Gregorcich
Beneficiary
