Water Project Inauguration - Global Brigades Blog

Party in El Zurzular!

Suzanne Zuppello, Ben Erker and Joel Cruz

02/10/2010

On January 22, 2010, we were not making just any trip to El Zurzular. The sense of calm usually felt on our drive to the community was replaced with a combination of excitement and nerves. We hoped that what lay before us would be a day of celebration, with an absence of the daily struggle felt by rural Honduran communities. As we entered El Zurzular, we were greeted with the open arms of community members, waiting to share with us a day filled with appreciation for life’s essentials: laughter, family, food, and most importantly clean water.

This day marked both the ending and beginning of a special relationship between Global Brigades and El Zurzular. It was the inauguration of their water project, which began in August and was completed a month prior to this day with the help of nearly 50 university students and 600 community members. Months of planning and hard work resulted in all 87 families in Zurzular receiving sufficient quantities of properly treated water daily, which was clearly a cause for celebration. The community planned a festive day and invited the Mayor and all of Global Brigades to join. Community members wrote songs and plays that left their audience laughing and even crying at times. Just after a local woman smashed a clay jug of water in front of a shiny, new faucet, Global Brigades, Zurzular, and the Mayor cut their first ribbon and the project was officially inaugurated. Excited by the mile stone, GB Director of Central America, Quique Rodriguez, started a water fight, dousing the nearby crowd with clean, potable water.

Everyone spoke about how proud they were to be a part of this project and their excitement to continue working in Zurzular. Since Water Brigades’ first day in Zurzular, with their fledgling Water Council, the community has seen great changes in their daily lives and will continue to receive support from GB in the form of public health projects, a small micro-lending bank, and a new school allowing students to continue their education through high school. The holistic vision of Global Brigades is being realized in Zurzular and will serve as a model in our other communities.

Ben Erker, Joel Cruz and Suzanne Zuppello, the Water Brigades Team.