Blog / July 13, 2019

Waves for Water revolutionizing access to clean water in San José de la Zorra

Photos property of Stephannie Lozano

Last month I had the opportunity to collaborate with the American organization Waves for Water (W4W).

As part of the Global Shapers Ensenada hub, we visited the Kumiai community of San Jose de la Zorra in the Guadalupe Valley (Baja California, Mexico) to support the efforts of W4W.

Like in many places around the world that lack access to clean drinking water, families in this community often drink water directly from the tap. This water has not been filtered and contains microorganisms that frequently harm their health. Several people reported that especially during the summer, children get sick from diarrhea due to poor water quality.

With the mission of improving the quality of life through access to clean water, W4W visited San Jose de la Zorra to give water filters to 75 families in the community.

Its technology is very easy to use, does not require batteries and works with nothing more than water pressure. If cleaned frequently, one filter can last a family of four up to 10 years.

During the visit, the hubs of Global Shapers Ensenada and Tijuana supported W4W by training the community members to use the filters, as well as facilitated the communication by translating from English to Spanish.

In 2010, the United Nations passed Resolution 64/292 that explicitly recognizes access to clean water as a human right. While there are thousands of ways that quality of life can be improved, drinking clean water is fundamental for human health and well being.

It was an enormous pleasure to attend this training and meet the people who are helping create access to the most important resource on the planet.

Water is life.