Essential Water Projects for Bolivians

We are so grateful for all of the donations that we have received toward this project. We had to go ahead and dip into our limited reserves to fulfill the promises we made to the 38 families living in the village of Vilaque. The project has significantly improved access to water for these families. Also the families received training in hygiene, water system maintenance and community organization.  Please continue to send donations so we can continue to support the brave, beautiful people living on the Altiplano. We want to empower the communities by providing the education and resources for them to create and sustain their own projects, allowing them to continue living on the land that their ancestors have for many generations.

One of the co-founders of QBL, Ken Barratt, took a trip to Bolivia this summer with 10 volunteers to witness the work completed by Bolivians, thanks to QBL support and funding. He reports:

"Way up at over 12,000 feet we saw QBL greenhouses bursting with healthy vegetables - and even strawberries and peaches.
We saw healthy chickens which are providing crucial protein from eggs and meat.
We saw a QBL irrigation system which is greatly increasing crop yields.
We saw QBL drinking water supplies which are transforming lives.
We talked to community members who beamed with pride and shook our hands and hugged us.
We saw giggling children splashing in clear water gushing from their faucet outside their houses.



We heard how family members no longer have to walk a mile for each bucket of water.
We have been to a region where the only other active development agency apart from QBL is the Chinese government who have a mobile dental clinic.
So many wonderful impressions to tell our friends about.

But....

For me one harder image overlies all the others. Take a look at this photo. The woman lives alone in this tiny mud brick hut in the village of Vilaque. It is almost 13,000 feet above sea level and icy cold every night. Each morning her son lifts her out and lays her on the ground outside where she spends every day of her life. She can no longer walk. She just sits and shakes. She has Parkinson's disease and is slowly dying.


We have piped water to every house in the  community, including hers. With your help QBL achieves so much, but as I sit in my warm office this afternoon thoughts of this one woman remind me that poverty has many cruel faces.
And yet I'm inspired by this image and by the scores of you who have sent their donations for this village. Lives are being changed."

Be a proud supporter of QBL! Let's fully fund this project so we can help establish another permanent water supply!