To a community who has recently seen the devastating effects of a flood, a clean water well will be a welcoming sight. The Triumph team arrived in El Salvador on Sunday and began work in Comunidad Marvin on Monday. With only 95 people in the community, the people of Comunidad Marvin are trying their best to rebuild after a flood destroyed many of their homes years ago.
As the team toured the community, they were encouraged by the light of the people despite their circumstances, but also greatly impacted by their desperate need for clean water. Even though this small community in El Salvador is located by a river, the water is contaminated. The people of Comunidad Marvin also share five bathrooms and a few, shallow hand-dug wells for water. These conditions don’t allow for healthy living, considering over two million people around the world die each year from unclean water.
After seeing the needs of the community, the Triumph team went to work, drilling and teaching. The women on the team taught the children about the importance of hygiene through fun activities, while the rest of the team began drilling the well. Yesterday, they drilled to 65 feet, a stepping stone to their goal of 210 feet!
To Comunidad Marvin and the Triumph team, this week is more than just building a clean water well. For the people of the community, this is an opportunity for a better life after a flood tried to take that away from them. For the Triumph team members, this is a week they will continue to be encouraged by the light of the people in Comunidad Marvin.