Page 30 - Presbyterian Connection Fall 2025

30 FALL 2025
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PRESBYTERIAN WORLD SERVICE & DEVELOPMENT
Water is Life
By Dr. Brett H. Meyer,
PWS&D Committee co-convener
On the last day of the festival,
the great day, while Jesus was
standing there, he cried out, “Let
anyone who is thirsty come to
me, and let the one who believes
in me drink. As the scripture has
said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart
shall flow rivers of living water’”
(John 7:37–38).
From May 5–16, 2025, a group
of Presbyterians from Ontario and
Quebec visited PWS&D’s projects
in Guatemala. Brett, who is a co-
convener of PWS&D’s commit-
tee, was a member of the delega-
tion. He is an Associate Professor
of Electrical and Computer Engi-
neering at McGill University, and
attends St. Columba by-the-Lake
Presbyterian Church in Pointe-
Claire, Que.
Eliuteria Alion Tomás, a Maya
Mam farmer in Comitancillo, San
Marcos, thought that she was too
old to see the day when she’d
have reliable access to water. In
Comitancillo, you’re always think-
ing about water. People often have
a municipal water source, but
there’s no telling when the water
will be on. Eliuteria knows the
value of reliable access to clean
water: it means healthier families,
healthier farms and a healthier en-
vironment. Water is life, and water
is prosperity, not only for humans,
but for all creatures.
Our time in Comitancillo was
marked by limited access to wa-
ter. Comitancillo is in the western
highlands of Guatemala. Its water
is not considered safe to drink,
and even in the heart of the city of
90,000, water storage is essen-
tial. Our ability to shower, wash
our hands, flush a toilet, all de-
pended on whether the water was
on, and if not? Then, it depended
on whether there was water in the
pila.
A pila, a Guatemalan essential,
is a sink, often concrete, divided
into three sections. In the mid-
dle there is a basin for freshwater
storage, typically about 90 litres.
(According to data from Statistics
Canada, the average Canadian
uses over 200 litres a day.) Wash-
ing happens in the left and right
sections of the pila. To keep the
basin water clean, you scoop wa-
ter from it to use over the work ar-
eas on the sides. When the water
is on, you fill your pila. But what
if rather than being off for part of
the day, as was our experience at
the hotel, the water is off for days
Eliuteria Alion Tomás, her daughter Mariela, and her granddaughter, three gen-
erations of Maya Mam Indigenous women.
The 2,500-litre water tank is crucial to the success of this tree nursery, an enterprise run by Maya Mam women and sup-
ported by PWS&D. The trees aid reforestation efforts, while fruit trees help improve dietary diversity.
at a time?
Access to a reliable water sup-
ply is transformative, not only
because it supports daily health
and hygiene, but also because
it supports farming productivity.
This is especially clear if we look
at the corn fields. Unlike in North
America, where corn is planted in
the spring and “knee high by the
Fourth of July,” as my grandmoth-
er would say, in May in Guatemala
we saw corn in every stage of
development: just planted, matur-
ing, just harvested. We also saw
yet unplanted fields that we were
told would be corn (and beans and
squash) once the rains came.
This year, the rainy season—
May to October—is getting a late
start, delaying planting. Reliable
access to water supports irriga-
tion. That can mean three or more
plantings and harvests in a calen-
dar year, and in turn better nutri-
tion and greater income.
Eliuteria has a relatively large
farm, at 32 cuerdas (20m x 20m).
Until recently, reliable access to
water complicated daily living as
well as farming. Though she has
a municipal tap, it only works a
couple of days a week. Through
her participation with AMMID,
PWS&D’s local partner, she re-
ceived a water tank that can hold
2,500 litres. When the water is
on, Eliuteria fills her tank, making
it possible to fill her pila for daily
water use, and provide water for
her farm. During the rainy season,
she also collects rainwater runoff
from the roof of her home; this
goes in the tank, too.
AMMID’s goal is el buen vivir—
the well-being—of Indigenous
Maya Mam people in the region
of San Marcos. AMMID works
with 1,500 families across 46
communities, in support of: food
sovereignty, Mayan equity and
identity, public health and the de-
fence of Mother Earth. Through its
work with AMMID, PWS&D has
financed the installation of 131
water tanks like Eliuteria’s, directly
improving the daily lives of many
families and investing in local
enterprises, e.g., a tree nursery.
AMMID, with its emphasis on
the defence of Mother Earth—
Madre Tierra, Qtxu Tx’otx’—takes
a comprehensive approach to
caring for the entire local liv-
ing water system, and all those
creatures dependent upon it. AM-
MID’s work to combat deforesta-
tion, and consequent soil erosion
and water system degradation,
is a particularly illustrative ex-
ample. Deforestation occurs in
part because wood, a key energy
source, is used for cooking as
well as boiling water to make it
safe for consumption.
AMMID works to improve
water safety by distributing eco
filters, teaching organic farm-
ing practices and encouraging
the reduction of consumption of
single-use plastics. This reduces
the need for boiling, reducing
wood use. AMMID also sup-
ports the development of local
tree nurseries, and execution of
reforestation projects. Finally,
the agency teaches youth in its
Political Formation School about
the importance of advocacy and
civic engagement with respect to
environmental concerns.
Eliuteria’s daughter, Mariela,
and her family recently returned
to live near Eliuteria and work her
land. Mariela will inherit this land,
she told us proudly, as will Ma-
riela’s daughter in the future. Her
water tank will do much to secure
a better future. Their story, and
the stories of the many who have
benefited from the work of AM-
MID, in partnership with PWS&D,
demonstrates the transformative
power of clean water.
Consider how your life would
change if you lost something we
take for granted daily: turn on the
faucet and clean water comes.
Imagine giving your children the
gift of water in a world where the
life and success of families and
communities hinges on it. Rivers
of living water, indeed!
To learn more about—and
support—PWS&D’s work in
Guatemala, visit WeRespond.ca/
Guatemala.
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