Flor and her little son FranklinIn many ways, Flor and José Hernández are a typical family in rural El Salvador. They have two young children and live in a simple home on a small plot of land. They work very hard but are very poor. Like most families in their village, they lack indoor plumbing. They haul water from a community well and use it for all their cooking and cleaning needs. And instead of indoor bathrooms they dig pits near their home.
In this community, the water table is not very deep. And unbeknownst to the Hernandez family, the pits used for human waste were leaking into the water supply making them and their entire village sick.
Pastor Juan RamírezAfter learning about the need, Pastor Ramírez and his church wanted to help. With ENLACE’s support, they teamed up with local health workers and other village leaders to create and implement a plan that replaced pits with eco-friendly “clean” latrines. The Hernandez family was among the first participants.
“We got our latrine three weeks ago and we have seen the difference,” said Flor. “We are so grateful.”
“God’s love can come in many ways,” said Pastor Ramírez. “Here we are building latrines that turn waste into fertilizer and don’t leak into the water table…From the very beginning we have been educating people about the importance of sanitation…The impact is very great! We just need to build more.”