Thank you for your generous gift! This report will introduce you to Angie and her family and the impact you've made in their lives.
Welcome to Northwestern New Mexico, just off of Route 66 near the Continental Divide. Alice and her family call this beautiful place home.
Unlike most families, Alice's has always struggled to get enough clean water to do basic things like take a bath or cook a meal.
But not any more.
All of that changed when you and DIGDEEP brought Alice and her family running water for the first time ever.
We've prepared this report to show you your impact. Let's get started!
When we imagine life without clean water, we often think of places like Sub-Saharan Africa - communities that barely resemble our own. But at last count, an estimated 1.7 million Americans still don't have clean, running water or a flush toilet at home.
American families without clean water live lives totally different from yours. They wake up and collect water from a source outside their home, fetching it in buckets and boiling it on the stove. When desperate, many haul water from unsafe sources contaminated with bacteria, arsenic or even uranium.
DIGDEEP is the only global water organization working on projects here in the US. We're starting that work on the Navajo Nation. By focusing on low-tech, high-impact solutions, DIGDEEP is making a big impact in this area.
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Check out these photos from the project and keep reading for more information on the technology we used.
You are awesome. You really, really are.
Thanks for sharing your hard-earned resources with a family in need. No American should live without clean, running water. Your generosity proves that we're all in this together!
Spread the word about your impact! Just copy this link to your report and post it on Facebook or Instagram - or post this photo.
COPY AND PASTE ME >> http://www.digdeepreports.org/alice
Alice has lived her entire life without running water. She is now 74 years old, the 3rd oldest of nine siblings. Alice’s mother was her hero- she taught her the value of independence and self-sufficiency. After her mother passed away, Alice left the 6th grade to help care for her siblings. She raised 9 children over the years and served as the bus driver of a local school for 29 years. The children thought of her a second mother, and this is what inspired Alice to continue looking after them.
Alice has survived 3 heart attacks and an open heart surgery. As a result, she experiences some health issues and has difficulty lifting anything over 5 lbs. Access to clean, running water in her home has transformed Alice’s life. She spent many years relying on the water delivered to her barrels, and even enlisted the help of relatives in times of emergency.
Alice’s new water system has given her the freedom and independence handle daily chores. She is excited to have hot water from the tap and high water pressure, which is something she has not experienced in her home. Now, she has more time to create dolls, crocheted goods, hand crafted boxes, and silver jewelry.
Alice is grateful to everyone who has contributed to the project, from the team on the ground to the donors who made it possible.
CHAPTER: BACA/PREWITT CHAPTER, NAVAJO NATION
LOCATION: PREWITT, NEW MEXICO
GPS: N35.362825 E-108.043956
COMPLETED: JANUARY, 2017
TECHNOLOGY: CISTERN
SOURCE: WATER TRUCK
LOCAL ALLY: ST. BONAVENTURE
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We collect a TON of project data; this is just a snapshot.
Every DIGDEEP project uses a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) that measures the way water access achieves other key goals like health, gender equity, and access to education.
Every DIGDEEP project is community-led and uses locally-appropriate technology. Benefiting families contribute labor and resources, participate in the installation, and are trained to use and maintain the equipment we install.
This water system is one small part of the larger Navajo Water Project - a multi-million dollar initiative to bring clean, running water to hundreds of families in Northwest New Mexico.
We're investing in home water systems, solar solutions, water trucking programs and new clean water sources like wells.
Explore the whole Navajo Water project by visiting the website: digdeep.org/navajo
DIGDEEP believes in real empowerment, measurable impact and radical transparency.
We use 100% of every donation to support to communities in need. The families we serve do their part too, by contributing supplies and labor.
When we work together, we can do amazing things.
This project uses cistern and pump technology, a reliable water storage and delivery solution for remote areas.
Water is delivered bi-monthly to a 1200 gallon cistern buried two feet underground. By burying the cistern, water is protected from sunlight, contamination and freezing.
Water is then pumped into the home by a Grundfos pump, through a particulate water filter and into a sink and shower. The system also uses small, in line electric water heaters.
Each cistern system is built with the help of the benefitting family, who are taught to maintain and upgrade their system as needed. The Navajo Water Project uses local labor and sources local parts when available.
Now that you've seen the incredible impact your gift can have, why not give again?
It costs $14 a month to deliver water to this house. And there are hundreds of families like this one waiting for a water system of their own.
You can sponsor that amount every month, make a new gift to a family in need or even give in someone's name.
We'll use 100% of your gift on another project like this one, and we'll send you another impact report.