Meet María from El Salvador

Catholic Relief Services’ water and sanitation projects in El Salvador and around the world help bring clean water to families and communities. Clean water means better health, especially for young children. These projects reflect the Catholic social teaching principle Rights and Responsibilities.

My name is María Idalia Serrano and I live with my husband and four children in El Pedregal, El Salvador. For most of my life, my days revolved around collecting water. I went back and forth to the river five times each day to get water for cooking, cleaning, and drinking. I never thought about whether this water was safe to drink. We did not have a choice. Water from the river was all we had.

A few years ago CRS helped build a well in my village. Now 130 families in El Pedregal have faucets that bring clean water right to our homes. Instead of travelling back and forth to the river, I can spend more time with my children, to watch and guide them. CRS also taught us to use water purifying pills to make sure that our water is safe to drink. Now, my husband and I volunteer with CRS in our community. We teach our neighbors that using purified water can help prevent health problems. Everyone has the right to clean, safe drinking water. Water is everything; water is health.