For years, Luis and his classmates carried heavy buckets of water up the steep and slippery mountain path to school each morning.

TIERRA BLANCA GUERRERO, Mexico – School and water have always gone hand in hand for students of Tierra Blanca.

Every day, students like 12-year-old Luis carried heavy buckets of water up the mountain from their home to school each morning.

The water was necessary because the school building did not have running water for students to drink or wash with. But the trip was arduous and dangerous, as students had to climb a steep path along the edge of the mountain with their heavy load.

One day Luis tripped and fell, dropping two buckets of water and sliding precariously close to the cliff’s edge.

“I thought I was going to die,” he said. “It was the scariest day of my life.”

Thanks to a water pump and purification system, Luis’ school now has clean, running water available for students and villagers.

But when an earthquake shook Luis’ village and damaged his school, Operation Blessing arrived with help.

Teams repaired the cracks in the building and replaced the broken windows, and then they met an even more urgent need—the one for clean, running water. Teams installed a pump to bring water up the mountainside and a purification unit to clean the water for drinking.

“The happiest day of my life was when Operation Blessing installed the pump and water purification system that went all the way up to the school and I knew that we would have water to drink,” Luis said.

Today, Luis and his classmates no longer have to carry buckets of water up the mountainside. And all of the villagers are able to use a filling station at the school to access clean water for their families.

Thanks to these efforts, more than 1,500 people now have access to clean water.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Help break the cycle of suffering by giving toward Operation Blessing's water wells and cisterns program. A gift of $1,800 can drill a well for villages and supply families with clean drinking water.

 

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