The Importance of Lifewater’s Training for Rural Guatemala
By Miriam de Maldonado, Hands for Peacemaking Foundation, Guatemala

In most of the rural communities of Barillas, Guatemala, a high percentage of the children get sick from contaminated water and bad hygiene habits. The reason for the latter is that there has been little to no education about hygiene, and therefore the people there are not aware of its importance.

During the Lifewater participatory hygiene training in San Luis Obispo, I learned that contamination can be eliminated in the daily life of any community around the world. When we have enough resources we see hygiene as part of our normal routine. We often judge people who don’t have clean water as lazy, but the reality is different. These people need our help.

Lifewater taught us simple but effective ways to educate with resources that villagers have on hand. Something even more special is, in the process of helping people, we find an open door to teach them the spiritual principles that show how God is also interested in our health.

The typical illnesses that the children of Barillas get because of contamination are diarrhea and intestinal parasites and amoebas. Most of them get better after a week, but because of the scarce resources and poor living conditions of the families, these types of sicknesses
can cause death.

Hands for Peacemaking’s goal in the area of hygiene is to train and educate people in the 250-plus villages around Barillas in order to
prevent illness and improve overall health.

As I write this article, I remember with love and admiration all the people from Lifewater who taught us with professionalism and patience.