For the fifth year in a row, Triumph has sent 12 of our team members to the country of El Salvador with Living Water International to help bring clean water to a remote Salvadorian village.
Why might a bank travel to another country to drill a water well? Our work with Living Water International supports two of our corporate philanthropic priorities: establishing viable communities and serving the less fortunate. Water is a significant building block for the development and transformation of people in developing countries. According to some estimates, nearly one in ten people worldwide live without access to clean water. Collecting water keeps kids out of school and takes parents away from earning money for their families. Even the water collected, if not clean, will carry diseases that make people sick. Clean water means more education, income and health for those with access to it.
On Sunday, April 23, Triumph’s team of 12 met at the airport in Houston to make the journey to El Salvador. With seven Triumph branch and office locations in three different states represented on this trip, many of these team members met face to face for the first time.
The team meets in Houston before boarding the plane to San Salvador.
From the start, the team immediately felt at home with each other – they started to lean on each other without question. Though travel can be stressful, especially when everyone has different schedules, this trip is special. The end result, a clean water source, is not for them, but for the people of El Salvador.
After a morning of travel, the team arrived at El Salvador International Airport. They worked their way through customs and outside into the heat where Marcella and Enrique, from Living Water International’s El Salvador staff, were waiting to receive them. Marcella and Enrique packed up the team and treated them to lunch as a welcoming introduction for the upcoming week of service they are there to perform. After the orientation was completed, the team was escorted to the Hotel Rancho Estero y Mar where they will call home for the rest of the week.
The team poses for a quick photo at Comalapa Airport before Sunday lunch in El Salvador.
Sandra, Tya and Jeisy
Fanny
Gerardo
Jay
Jeisy and Vanessa
Kevin
Check back tomorrow to hear about our team’s progress on their first day as they make their initial trip to the drill site, the village of Canton Cerco de Piedra in Rosario de Mora, San Salvador. Preparations will be made for drilling and hygiene which will begin later on that afternoon.