A Sickening Choice

Guatemala

Abygail is a single mom raising her two boys in Guatemala. They have two main sources of water –the first is a shallow well that they dug. The water is not safe to drink. “The color is yellow and sometimes it smells like a dead animal. We can't drink it because it is bad and hurts our stomachs,” reported Abygail.  

When the well runs dry, the second source of water is from a polluted river more than a 30-minute walk from home. “The water that comes out has a rusty smell and taste, but because we need water, we have to drink it,” she added. 

Abygail buys water to drink when she can afford it. But most times they simply risk drinking the water. “When I drink that water my stomach hurts,” her adorable six-year-old, Alan, told us. 

Her two children sometimes got so sick Abygail had to take them to the clinic. “They told me that my son's stomach was caused by the dirty water,” said Abygail through her tears. "They asked me why I was giving it to them and I said it was out of necessity." 

Then thanks to you, Operation Blessing came to her community and drilled a deep well. We then pump the water to a 4,000 gallon tank where its purified and sent through a network of pipes to every home in the community.  

“Thank you to Operation Blessing and the people who gave money to bring us clean water,” said the grateful mom.