First regional delegates selected, second meeting in Aguas Buenas on the way
PDF version of the press release
San Juan | Thursday, August 12, 2021 Community water system leaders from the central area of the island will meet next Saturday, August 21, 2021, at the Boys & Girls Club in Aguas Buenas to celebrate the 2nd Gathering of Community Aqueducts of Puerto Rico, facilitated and supported by the Puerto Rico Community Foundation (FCPR). The meeting follows the first one, recently held in Añasco, where six representatives from the southwest region were selected. The purpose of these meetings, and two others to be held in the central-south and southeast regions, is for representatives from each of these geographical areas to create what will be a national organization that groups, supports, and represents the approximately 242 community aqueducts that exist on the island.
To the event held last July 24 in Añasco, 47 representatives from 15 community aqueducts in the southwest attended. The six volunteer spokespersons from the southwest region are: Iris González, Corcovada Aqueduct of Añasco; Wilfredo Bonilla, Gabino Negrón Aqueduct of Aguada; Walter Carrero, Jaguey Chiquito Aqueduct of Aguada; Glorimar Santiago, Juan Hernández Aqueduct of Adjuntas; Jaryneth Jimenez, Limaní Aqueduct of Adjuntas; and Evelyn Rosado, Humatas de Añasco Aqueduct.
“The meeting allowed us to learn more and ask questions about the proposal facilitated by the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, which seeks to strengthen us through a national organization gestated by ourselves. We are convinced that the development of this network of aqueducts will allow us to have better resources and tools, enabling us to fulfill our objective: to provide clean and safe water to our communities,” said Iris González, president of the Corcovada Community Committee.
The initiative is part of the Water for Us Program of the FCPR and is the sequel of three regional events held in 2019 in Añasco, Aguas Buenas, and Adjuntas. At previous meetings, leaders from these communities shared their challenges and insights and identified the need to establish a national group to represent them in addressing their challenges and opportunities. The initiative, facilitated by the FCPR, has received a grant of $250,000 from Global Giving.
It is expected that a group of delegates from the region will also emerge from this second regional meeting, a situation that should be repeated in the next two meetings. In this way, a fifth meeting would be held before the end of the year to elect what would be the general board of directors of a community aqueduct organization in Puerto Rico.
“The development of this initiative is founded on the principles of participation, representativeness, and sustainability. We are honored to have been able to facilitate the process that allowed for this first selection of delegates from the southwest region. The path is now laid out. The meetings that have taken place and what is planned at the national level are nothing more than the organized activation of the social capital of these communities to achieve the common good and access to potable water for every resident of these communities. It is self-management from the very base of the community. Our role is to facilitate the process so that it can be sustainable in the long term,” said the president and chief executive officer, the Dr. Nelson I. Colón Tarrats.
In Puerto Rico, there are approximately 242 community water systems, located in 43 municipalities, mostly in remote and mountainous rural areas. These systems supply drinking water to 31% of the population, representing approximately 120,000 people. Every day, these communities face challenges related to a lack of power to operate the pumps, contamination of the water sources that feed them, and a lack of funding to keep them functioning optimally so they can meet their communities’ needs, among other issues.
The central region has 59 community aqueducts and, for the purpose of this project, is composed of the following towns: Naranjito, Barranquitas, Aibonito, Cayey, Cidra, Aguas Buenas, Comerío, and Caguas. The work agenda starts at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. – there will be lunch and a COVID-19 protocol will be implemented. It is necessary to confirm attendance by calling (787) 962-7700.
The FCPR will later announce the locations of the next two regional meetings on its social media: Facebook (@FundacionComunitaria), Instagram (@fundacioncomunitaria), and Twitter (@FComunitaria).