From nighttime water runs to peace of mind
In Cachona, Peru, one public tap served the entire community. Families were only allowed to collect water once each day. “If they caught me collecting during the day, they would fine me,” Isidiana says. “It was as if it were stolen.”
One trip wasn't enough to cover her family's basic needs. She needed water to wash clothes and help her daughters get ready for school. So Isidiana made the walk again at night.
"If they caught me collecting during the day, they would fine me."
Hauling heavy buckets of water was part of Isidiana's daily routine.
Every day, Isidiana made repeated trips to collect water, carrying four or five heavy buckets more than a hundred meters uphill to her home. The water had to stretch as far as possible. After washing clothes, whatever remained was used for bathing. Even simple household conveniences felt out of reach. The hardest part was explaining that reality to her daughters. “My little girl would say, ‘Mommy, the sink?’” Isidiana recalls. “And there was no sink.”
"My little girls would say, ‘Mommy, the sink?’…And there was no sink.”
Isidiana and her husband have three daughters. Their oldest is in high school, and the twins are in primary school.
For years, water shaped every part of Isidiana's daily routine. Then a community-led effort changed everything. Over six months, residents built a reservoir and pump system that brought water from a spring below the village to homes across the community.
Once the system was built, families needed to pay a connection fee to bring water into their homes. The cost was out of reach for Isidiana. Through Water.org's local financial partners, she was able to access an affordable water and sanitation loan that covered the connection and helped her build a bathroom on her property.
“I have a bathroom, I have water, I am at peace.”
Isidiana and her family live more comfortably with safe running water at home.
Today, water flows to Isidiana's home. She has a bathroom with a shower, a sink, and a washing machine. With these solutions in place Isidiana shared with gratitude, “I have a bathroom, I have water, I am at peace.”
Across Peru, 6.4 million people have gained safe water or sanitation through loans like Isidiana's. Because 98% of those loans are repaid, the funds can help the next family in need, and the next. Learn more about how small loans for water and sanitation make a lasting impact in Peru and around the world.
