Simón was doing his best. Since his wife died 10 years ago, he’s been a single dad. Living in poverty — in the remote Nicaraguan town of Piedra Colorado, or “Red Stone” — Simón was determined to be self-sufficient, to provide for himself and his children. He started a small business, raising pigs. He sold enough to buy a small plot of land, and he began growing corn and beans, to eat and to sell.
He gave it his all. “A lot of dedication and effort,” he says. But it just wasn’t enough. To find water for drinking, cooking, washing, irrigation, and for their livestock, the people of Red Stone had to trek for miles, to find water in creeks, ravines, or springs – raw and unfiltered, but usable.
Simón really needed help… So did his neighbors.
And you gave them that help. Last year, support for Esperança enabled the people of this community to build a new water system. For the first time in their history, the people of Red Stone had clean water delivered right to their homes.
But they still had a serious problem: disease.
Why? Lack of sanitation.
Unimaginable for many of us, living your entire life without the convenience of toilets is a harsh reality for many. In Red Stone, there’s not a single toilet.
It’s more than an inconvenience. It’s unsanitary. Sewage systems are essential to hygiene and health. Waste products must be disposed of properly. You and I have the luxury of taking plumbing for granted. Not Simón and his family. Not their neighbors. They tried, year after year, to get the authorities to act. But it was no use. Red Stone is too far from the big city. Too hard to get to. Easy to ignore. Easy to forget…
At Esperança we are telling Simón, his children, and their entire community: You are not forgotten.
With generous support from our donors, Esperança will provide proper sanitation for Simón and the people of Red Stone – preventing disease and improving life expectancy.
They simply cannot do it on their own.
“We have lived forgotten,” Simón says. But no more. Today, finally, they have hope.
Ecological toilets are the future of sanitation in Red Stone.
We know the costs. A single eco-friendly toilet and the corresponding infrastructure costs $750 and can change the life of a family of 6 — forever. Whatever you can contribute will make a difference.
“We need your help to improve living conditions,” Simón tells us, “to improve health.”
Consider making a donation today to help other communities like Red Stone.
