Peru, Women's empowerment stories

Together, we've empowered millions of people with access to safe water and sanitation. We invite you to meet some of them and read their stories.

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Empower families in Peru with safe water and toilets

Together we've empowered millions of people in need of safe water and sanitation in Peru. Through small, affordable lives are being changed and futures are bright. Read more about how Water.org is working with local partners in Peru to bring families the water connections and toilets they need to live hopeful, healthy lives.

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She can move mountains

Yolanda is a hopeful, determined woman. We know this because every day she works to provide water for her family. Her home sits above the city of Cusco in the Andes Mountain range at more than 2,000 feet from the center of town. Yolanda purchases buckets of water from residents in town. At least every other morning, she makes her way down the steep, rocky road from her house to buy as much water as she can carry back up the more than one mile vertical trek.

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Nelly's heart

Water is a smart investment. The best investment the world can make to reduce disease, increase income, keep kids in school, and change lives. Nelly believed this to be true, and now she knows it for a fact. Thanks to Water.org’s smart solution known as WaterCredit, the hardworking, loving, single mom who wanted to give her family safe water and a better life was able to do it.

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Lima
Ariacelle

When given a choice and an opportunity to pay for water and sanitation improvements over a reasonable period of time, families in need often choose to finance long-term solutions versus pay high prices, or struggle day-to-day, to get that next liter of water. Ariacelle once struggled daily to pay for bottled water and find a safe place to go. A small, affordable loan empowered Ariacelle with the funds needed to pay for the installation of a toilet and sink in her home.

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Ruth reading
Ruth can read

Proud of herself, Ruth read to her mother. The two sat enjoying Ruth's book just a few feet from their new water connection. This connection means Ruth will never know the water crisis like her mother once did. Instead, Ruth can focus on school, and reading her favorite books.

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Lelita - Peru
Investing in their home, health, and future

Lelita and her brother John share their childhood home outside of Chiclayo in Peru. Years ago, before their parents passed, the two committed to their mother and father that they would keep the home in the family. Though it is a simple concrete, dirt-floor dwelling, they promised to give future generations the best lives possible in the house their parents built.

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Liliana - 1
A way for Liliana to make a way

Before her family had a toilet, they used a hole in the ground, and when Liliana needed water, she was forced to either walk a great distance, or ask her neighbors for help. Time consuming and burdensome, Liliana does not miss those days of wasted time and lost income.

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Monica and her family in Peru
Monica

Monica is studying to be a cosmetologist, and can’t wait to graduate. The optimism in her eyes and the confidence in her tone demonstrate readiness to see her hard work blossom into a career.

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Edita in Peru
Edita

Water.org’s work around the world includes removing the barriers that separate women like Edita from access to safe water.

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Marta in Peru
Marta's water connection

When asked why water is so important to her, Marta replied, "It is important because I feel more comfortable and clean. My house is cleaner. I have better health now, and...a better life.”

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Nancy in Peru
A toilet is a beautiful thing

A toilet is something we rarely give a second thought until we need to use it. But for millions of people, a toilet is something they rarely - if ever - get to use.

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Ruth in Peru
Ruth

Ruth is hopeful and determined. After a childhood spent collecting water, she wanted more for her adult life. She is now an artist, a wife, and an empowered mother who is changing her family’s world.

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Together, we can empower more families with safe water.

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