Change for Children has been collaborating to ensure clean water in drought-stricken communities in Nicaragua since 2003. And it’s not just about clean water. It’s about environmental sustainability and local resource governance. It’s about girls going to school and healthy families. It’s about water rights advocacy and independence. This past year alone it has also been about providing training for 368 Community Water Committees governing the water supply for 44,913 families.

The new water system in Los Ébanos, a 42-family community in Chichigalpa, Nicaragua, is complete with well, water tower and tank, electric pump, distribution pipes, and water meters. As a replacement for a well on the verge of collapse, achieving clean water in this community also included investment from the municipality and the commitment of community members who purchased the land required for the infrastructure and made a significant investment of sweat equity to prepare the trenching for the network of pipes to each home.