Photo by Mathijs Beks on Unsplash
Note: On World Water Day 2019, CARE’s Water Team Director sent out a special email (see below) to all CARE colleagues recognizing the systems strengthening work of CARE Guatemala. Congratulations to the CARE Guatemala team!
CARE Colleagues,
Today, March 22, is World Water Day. Raise a glass of potable water from your nearest working tap and celebrate! World Water Day is an important day for CARE, as CARE programs in more than 50 countries work to improve access to water and sanitation as a foundation of health, education, livelihoods, economic empowerment, food security, resilience, and well-being.
This year’s World Water Day theme is “Leaving No One Behind,” and today, we celebrate the tireless work of CARE’s water+ programs and staff across the globe, to ensure that water services are inclusive of and benefit everyone. CARE’s water+ programs work to include, empower, and improve the lives of women and girls, but also of marginalized groups that are often under-represented, under-consulted, and under-served. Read a snapshot of how some of CARE’s water+ programs are working to ensure that everyone has access to water here. To our Water+ teams around the globe – thank you for the important work you do, and for the contributions you make to reducing social injustice and inequality, and ensuring sustainable and equitable water services that improve the lives of everyone.
Finally, this World Water Day, we are proud to award the new, annual WASH Systems Change Award to CARE Guatemala. The CARE Guatemala team has worked persistently to strengthen WASH governance, service quality, and investment in the western highlands of Guatemala for more than two decades. As a result of this work, nearly all of 30 municipal governments in the Department of San Marcos have structured investment and oversight of rural water services, and nearly 100% of water schemes built in the last 20 years are still functioning. In this interview, CARE Guatemala’s Enri Maldonado, who has worked with CARE for more than 20 years, talks about the secrets of their success. Thanks to Enri, Adolfo Ochoa, Amilcar Mirón and the entire CARE Guatemala team for their tireless work to drive the broader systems change necessary to ensure sustainable water and sanitation services in the communities of San Marcos!
Happy World Water Day to all!
Stephanie Ogden | CARE USA | Water Team Director