Families in the Ponsoña region of Nicaragua are already drinking clean water from public access points, including at schools, while the team and communities work to bring the network to every home. With 75% of the Phase II network complete and construction months ahead of schedule, that goal is getting closer faster than planned.
Early Water Access Is Already Changing Daily Life
Phase II is already serving families in Cabecera Paiwas, La Libertad, and Puente Paiwas through public water access points:
- Cabecera Paiwas: a new public water point is now serving the community.
- Puente Paiwas: three public water points have been enabled.
- Schools and churches in these communities are part of the project, so students, worshippers, and neighbors have a safe source close by.
These access points are an important first step. Families no longer have to rely on distant and unsafe sources for every drop they use.
The Goal: Clean Water at Home
Public water points are not the finish line. The ultimate goal is water in every home. When water flows at the household level, girls and women no longer have to spend hours carrying it, and families no longer have to store it in open containers where it can become contaminated and lead to water-borne illness. Clean water at home means more time for school, work, and better health for everyone.
Months Ahead of Schedule, Thanks to the Families Themselves
The project team is months ahead of schedule, thanks to the communities’ commitment. Families have gone above and beyond, volunteering their time and labor to dig the trenches that will carry water to their own neighborhoods. Community members have now excavated more than 21 kilometers of trenching. After completing 16.7 kilometers by August, they added another 4.4 kilometers in September.
The work isn’t only underground. Where the network crosses streams, roads, and other natural obstacles, the project needs specially designed overhead pipeline crossings. A second aerial pipeline bridge has been built, with more planned. Each is small next to the kilometers of trenching, but each is essential to carrying water toward homes.
The Road Ahead
The remaining work is clearly defined:
- Paiwitas sector: 3.5 kilometers of distribution network still to excavate
- Overhead crossings: construction of additional bridges continues
- Household water access points and meters: installation to follow
Built by Communities, Backed by Generous Partners
What began as a plan to connect communities to a shared water source is now a physical network across the region. Families who prioritize clean water access are building it, with support from Project Schoolhouse donors and partners.
We remain deeply grateful to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its financial support of this multi-community project. Its generosity has helped make possible a system that will serve families across the region for years to come.
Step by step, kilometer by kilometer, clean water is moving closer to the families still waiting, and to the day it flows from a tap in their own homes.
