Maria-Elena is a health volunteer who tests water quality, collaborating with Cova to ensure safe drinking water in La Victoria. The water system feeds the school her grandchildren attend. So let’s just say, she’s on top of it.

When La Victoria’s water source became unreliable, Cova worked with the water board to annex a new water source, ensuring enough water to serve the growing population. And Maria-Elena was right there to learn and to serve and to support. “I drink water, so I get involved!” For Maria-Elena, it’s that simple. She reaps what she sows. She throws no dirt. She has a heart of gold.

Maria-Elena speaks in wise metaphors borne from lack, from love, and from life experience. She is one of those grandmothers whose kindness is not reserved for just her ten grandkids (though it’s safe to assume they receive their fair share). She is one of those grandmothers who says yes. One who organizes women’s coffee cooperatives. One who connects with the community as president of the parent’s group at school. One who unites neighbors through a community bank. One who toils with plants, who volunteers, and who makes trip stew to feed the whole neighborhood. So when she was invited by Cova to add monthly water quality testing to her list of responsibilities as community health promoter, she said, you guessed it – yes!

Pay a visit to Maria-Elena and you just might leave with a bag of coffee beans. Or a plant. Or an invitation to Christmas dinner to sample her signature chicken and rice. Or all three. Safe water has given this grandmother opportunities, and it seems she has dedicated her life to giving right back, to forging strong bonds with everyone in her path. Equipped with a reliable safe water source, families (and grandmothers like Maria-Elena) can better adapt to the challenges they face. Safe water empowers. Safe water means being able to say ‘yes.’

Saying yes to supporting our spring campaign brings us closer to our goal of reaching 4,000 families over the next seven days. One $30 monthly gift means safe water for two more families.