Felicitas knew water was nearby
Most mornings, Felicitas travels toward Anta to gather watercress from the streams. Upon return, she boils potatoes which are an ingredient in the watercress salad she sells at her local market in the afternoon.
Without a source of water at home, obtaining water to wash and boil the produce has been a challenge for Felicitas. It impacted her business and her family’s daily lives.
"I told her, I haven’t the money."
A water connection to her home was not something Felicitas could pay for all at once. Her community president controls new connections and asks that each household pay 8,000 to 15,000 soles to fund the construction.
Felicitas explained, “I told her, I haven’t the money,” Felicitas knew water was within reach, she just needed a way to pay over time. Felicitas and her family continued struggling to find the next liter of water they needed.
Felicita s greets her loan officer from Water.org's local partner bank, Caja Cusco.
Felicitas explained how sometimes her neighbor would let her have water. She would walk to the neighbor’s home and fill a few jugs at a time. It was difficult carrying them back home.
What ended Felicitas’ family’s water crisis was not a sudden ability to pay for a water connection through the local president’s program. It was getting the opportunity to affordably finance an immediate solution through Water.org’s local bank partner, Caja Cusco, that gave Felicitas’ family both safe water and a sanitation solution.
"When they installed the little bathroom, we felt at peace."
“When they installed the little bathroom, we felt at peace,” she shared, "Now I have a bathroom and I have clean water without walking.”
Since financing an improved sanitation facility and a safe water connection, Felicitas' life has changed.
With more time, she is able to gather, wash, and cook more foods to sell at the market. Felicitas has repaid her loan to the bank and now she looks forward to improving her home in other ways.
