She’s bringing clean water to 500 families in rural Guatemala ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌







Olivia estimates that her family consumes about five jugs of purified water each month. At just 5 quetzales per jug, the water is affordable for Olivia — amounting to just over $3 for a month’s supply.

But it wasn’t always this way.
"Most of the communities are not used to drinking clean water, they just drink from the rivers. But due to the storms, the water got contaminated," Olivia says.
In 2020, Hurricane Eta pummeled Guatemala with heavy rains. Just 14 days later, Hurricane Iota followed, significantly worsening the damage in communities like Cobán where Olivia lives.

In this rural area, like many others, families relied on the river water for drinking and washing. But the storms contaminated the water, and children were getting sick.

"I worked with the school clinic to notify all the representatives of the communities how important it is to drink purified water," says Olivia.

She works at a local school that provides health services to young students and clean water through a water purification system installed by Mercy Corps. Olivia manages the system, which provides between 5,700-9,500 liters of water per week, supporting 500 families.
Olivia manages the water purification system in her community in rural Guatemala. The plant provides between 5,700-9,500 liters of water to families each week.
Mercy Corps is working in communities around the world to improve access to clean water. We promote equitable and inclusive water planning, governance, and management processes, ensuring the meaningful participation of marginalized groups — especially women — in these processes.

Women and girls gather water in 7 out of 10 households without water supplies on premises — a responsibility that can be time consuming and often dangerous. Because women and girls bear the brunt of the water crisis, they are important partners in solving the problem.

Olivia’s leadership is helping pave the way for a stronger future for the next generation. The school where she works is located in an area where many children come from under-resourced homes. Here, Olivia says the school is like a family. It’s a huge source of support for her community — and an inspiration for all of us who care about helping families flourish everywhere.

Learn more about our work on water security by watching this video.

In partnership,

The Mercy Corps team