From the living room of their Easton townhouse, Sabrina Zimmermann and Simón Zimmer, run a non-profit organization with the far-reaching mission of helping poor communities in developing countries get a steady supply of clean water.
Inspired by first-hand experiences with water shortages in South and Central America, the adventurous husband-and-wife team started Aguayuda—Spanish for “water” and “help”—five years ago and have brought clean-water technology, and the education to sustain it, to villagers in Costa Rica and Colombia.
The couple lived in a Honduran village for two years, while Simón served as a Peace Corps teacher. In the dry season, the village reservoir would run dry for days at a time.
“This meant we could not shower, cook food that required water or wash our hands,” Simón says. “We only experienced not having water for a few days, but it was enough to realize how important it is.”
“We learned how it was to live without water, and it’s not very pleasant,” says Sabrina, who serves as Aguayuda’s president. “We wanted to start a non-profit organization focusing on water.” She says they see access to clean water as one of the first stepping stones out of poverty.
Working as volunteers, Sabrina and have raised $150,000 through Aguayuda and used it to help almost 3,900 people in 11 communities solve water problems. In Costa Rica, for instance, they have helped establish a rain-collection system in a village where the local stream was polluted by runoff from nearby banana and pineapple plantations. And in a coastal town in Colombia, they helped build a wind-power water pump.
After they develop a water solution, they set up committees in the towns to maintain the system.
“We always want the community to be engaged, to want to change their situation,” Simón says. “It’s great to install a windmill, but they need to be maintained.” The couple also trained villagers in the use of water, waste management and ways to prevent drug abuse and HIV/AIDS.
A major impetus in the formation of Aguayuda came from the couple’s 2005 visit to Bogota, Colombia, in search of Simón’s biological family. He had been adopted as an infant by a Columbia, Maryland, family and at age 25, he decided to find his roots.
“Colombia became our second home after we found my biological family,” says Simón. “The desire to want to help Colombia became even stronger.”
In 2006, with the help of Simón’s adoptive father and stepmother, Art and Linda Zimmer of Oxford, the couple founded Aguayuda.
Part of their process to help villagers is to write manuals on how to manage and maintain the systems that have been installed. The manuals are then posted on their website.
“There are a lot of manuals out there, but not many of them are designed for rural communities with a low level of education,” explains Sabrina. “Aguayuda’s manuals feature lots of images, and a step by step guide of how to teach the lessons for teachers.”
Simón adds, “We want the knowledge to stay within the community.”
The couple maintains monthly contacts with all of Aguayuda’s project sites and visits them every year.
“In the water non-profit sector, what happens after the ribbon cutting is actually now becoming a subject of discussion. Ten years ago, this wasn’t the case,” Simón says. “You have to monitor the project after it’s done, otherwise, how do you know it’s sustainable? The water sector is working together to see how to make itself more accountable. But whether it is in Costa Rica or Colombia, everybody’s got the same issues.”
More information about Aguayuda, click here.
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Aguayuda will host a five-year anniversary presentation on Thursday, Dec. 1, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Historical Society Auditorium in Easton where Simón and Sabrina will give a presentation about their work. The event is free to the public and refreshments will be served. Reservations are encouraged by email at [email protected] or by calling 410-463-1455
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