Tambla, Lempira, Honduras Realizes a Dream
The Tambla water project started more than 12 years ago as the dream of Marco Serrano, who had been the president of the Tambla Water Committee for 9 years. He got the land where the community’s water storage tanks sit and where the water house now was built. He built the perimeter wall to protect the water. He longed to have a water purification system in his village. On January 23, 2021, Marco’s dream finally came true, and he was honored with the first bottle of pure water produced by the Tambla Living Waters for the World (LWW) Water System.
Left picture is Marco Serrano. Right picture is Marco Serrano (center) receiving the first bottle of pure water from Mayor Josue Melgar (left) and Benjamin Serrano, water board member (right).
Tambla is a paradise at high elevation surrounded by beautiful mountains. The volcanoes and cities of El Salvador can be seen from the right parts of the village. It is an area blessed with an abundance of water, enough for generations of pure water.
Even though politics and religion have brought some divisions to the community, they are a hard-working, educated people who value the health of the community. They have shown a great willingness to work together, with excellent leadership by the Water Board, Educators, and Operators. Suyape Nuñez, the Education Coordinator, says, “This project will definitely be of great benefit to us. I really like that the focus of LWW is not the financial part but rather, improving people's health. Without a doubt, this project will bring us a change of attitude.”
Tambla is a Hondurans Helping Hondurans (HHH) project, so our In-Country staff team of Edwin Rodriguez, Olvin Duron, Franklin Ruiz, and Edwin’s wife, Leni Flores, were our Installation and Education team Initiating Partner (IP) leaders. Christ the Servant Lutheran Church (CTS) in Bellingham, WA is the Supporting IP. Due to Covid, the CTS team could not physically be present, but we participated via Zoom in a group meeting with the Tambla leaders at the start of the week, and joined in again for the celebration. We’ve also all been communicating on our Purificadora Tambla WhatsApp conversation, an easy place to keep in touch with all the partners – the Tambla people who have been trained and their community leaders, the CTS Deep Waters Mission team, and our In-Country staff. We just learned from Suyapa that the first Education training will be January 29 at 4 p.m. and the target group is the water board and the 2 lead operators!
Educators in Tambla, Lempira, Honduras
Covid installations are different than normal. Teams must follow the Covid protocol developed by an LWW team of In-Country staff members from many countries, and training groups are not as big as usual. Educators don’t practice teach with large groups, and celebrations are much smaller. Still, our LWW installations and trainings can work under these circumstances. Tambla was the 2nd HHH installation during Covid, with their neighbor Valladolid, Lempira, being the first in October 2020. Westminster Presbyterian Church in Westchester, PA is their Supporting IP.
Olvin Duron, Mayor Josue Melgar, Leni Flores, Edwin Rodriguez, and Water Board member Benjamin Serrano toast with pure water
After the Installation and Education week, one of the educators, Remberto Ruiz Alverto said, “We have learned a lot and now it is our job to teach and persuade all the people to use this water.” When CTS members told the Tambla team that we want to come to visit them when it’s possible to travel again, Remberto replied, “It will be an honor to have you here and share our reality with you.”
Mayor Josue Melgar, Benjamin Serrano, and Edwin Rodriguez cutting the ribbon at the Tambla water system
Our Honduras Staff, Edwin Rodriguez, Leni Flores, Olvin Duron, and Franklin Ruiz, did marvelous work preparing the village, and guiding the Operators, Educators, and the Water Board during the installation. Already they continue to support this new water system. The building looks beautiful and the stage is set for them to be successful in their endeavors. It has been our church’s privilege to join in virtually, so we thank the In-Country team for making that possible! Now the seeds have been sown, the dream is furthered, and we'll be praying for our new friends in Tambla, that all these children of God will have pure water to drink for generations!
Kasey Potzler is Moderator of LWW's Honduras Network. She is a member of the water team at Christ the Servant Lutheran Church in Bellingham, WA.
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