{"id":133,"date":"2014-03-05T16:31:20","date_gmt":"2014-03-05T16:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/entremundosrevista.wordpress.com\/?p=133"},"modified":"2015-09-30T20:15:02","modified_gmt":"2015-09-30T20:15:02","slug":"the-world-at-large-international-aid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized-es\/the-world-at-large-international-aid\/","title":{"rendered":"The World At Large: (Inter)National Aid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blake Nelson\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s never a good idea to publicly criticize your boss.
\nWilliam Easterly was a successful economist at the World Bank when he was fired for writing a book excoriating the ineffectiveness of International Aid (and the World Bank knows a few
\nthings about International Aid). He responded with the ironically titled The White Man\u2019s Burden, where he continued to criticize industrialized countries for money that has \u201cdone so much ill and
\nso little good\u201d in the developing world. He was particularly harsh towards Western organizations that force top-down solutions on poor communities, without listening to any local voices.<\/p>\n

At first glance the Colorado-based non-profit Healing Waters International might seem ripe for that same critique. Courting international donors to build water filtration systems worldwide,
\ncritics might wonder how American engineers could truly address systemic problems in countries like Guatemala.
\nEnter Salom\u00f3n Hern\u00e1ndez.
\nA successful businessman and pastor in Chiquimulilla, Hern\u00e1ndez had heard about Healing Water\u2019s reputation for fiscal responsibility and sustainability, in addition to their safe, affordable
\nwater. Guatemala, like many developing countries, is filled with families who often have to choose between buying food or buying bottled water (and if they choose the former, the only
\nwater left is often contaminated). Many of those same families live around Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s church, and he wanted to do more than just evangelize.<\/p>\n

I spent several days in January driving with Hern\u00e1ndez, his family, and several members of his church throughout Santa Rosa. Two things were extremely obvious: Southern Guatemala has a
\nbig water problem. But what Hern\u00e1ndez and Healing Waters (known here as Aguas de Unidad) are doing is a big part of the solution. He and his\u00a0church, which is neither massive nor wealthy,\u00a0paid for a water filtration system without any outside help, a first in Aguas de Unidad\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

They sell hundreds of five gallon jugs every day, and despite charging 75% less than SalvaVida,\u00a0they\u2019ve still created enough of a profit marget to begin planning more systems. Guatemala, like many developing countries, has been ravaged by unchecked corporate power. \u00a0But the presence of Aguas de Unidad is a great example of capitalism at its finest. Aguas offers a product that\u2019s better and cheaper than the competition, which has led to lowered prices both here \u00a0and elsewhere. \u00a0Because of local leaders like Hern\u00e1ndez willing speak up for the poor, and groups like Aguas de Unidad willing to listen, Chiquimulilla is seeing a groundbreaking combination of local
\nleadership and local profits. Poverty has no quick fix. But clean and cheap water seems like a great place to start.<\/p>\n

Easterly would be proud.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"