More than just Bathrooms

When we started the bathroom and water project in the communities of Pancho Mateo, we did not expected to be able to work on other communities such as Caraballo and Negro Melo, but our goal was always to build good functional structures — we wanted to restore dignity.  

In the beginning, many families had never used a flush toilet before. Some had to walk long distances just to fetch water. Together, we learned how to build, how to teach, and most importantly, how to listen. It takes courage to accept the blame and then act on it. and with the help of Serve to LEAD, the communities of Pancho Mateo and Caraballo now adding Negro Melo, have been helping to shape a new beginning for the future to come.

Today, more than 87% of the families in these communities have access to a clean, private bathroom and running water. For many, it means the first time their children can grow up with something as simple — yet powerful — as a door that locks and a faucet that runs. 

It hasn’t only changed homes. It’s changed hearts. It’s changed the way our people see themselves — with pride, with health, and with hope.

This project has been significant in the lives of so many people, and has brought hope to some communities which were abandoned, since the sugar cane factory closed. Those communities which in a sense belong to the government had been in the same condition for more than 70 years. Now, we have managed to build bathrooms and connect a water system in each house.

This is more than a construction project. This is community. This is transformation. 

-Marc Nicoleau, Project Manager STLDR