Mission group working to provide clean drinking water to El Salvador

For just $100 a family in El Salvador can have clean drinking water for years. With that in mind, a group of Newton residents are working to raise enough money to install water purification systems into the homes of a village they visit each year on a mission trip. “Annually we have our medical mission and this year we have another focus,” said Veronica Mangrich of Newton, who is helping organize the annual mission trip for Sacred Heart Catholic Church and United Presbyterian Church in Newton. Along with the mission group’s goal to address medical needs of the people of El Salvador, the group is now focusing on purchasing and installing water purification systems in homes of families who have no other choice but to get their drinking water from the same streams and springs used to bathe, do laundry in and water livestock. The El Salvadorian’s contaminated drinking water often leads to diarrhea and other health issues that can lead to severe illness or death. “To improve the health of the people there it comes down to the very simple, essential need of clean water,” she said. “We can’t continue to go down there without addressing the basic issue of clean water. No matter where they get their water from it’s contaminated.” To help eliminate the health risks linked with the contaminated water, Lee Mangrich said an inexpensive, self-sufficient water purification system can be installed and used by a family for years. “It’s not expensive for us but it’s impossible for them because 26 percent of El Salvadorians live on just a $1 a day,” Lee Mangrich said. To help cover the cost of the purification systems, the mission group is hosting a benefit dance and Italian dinner on Saturday. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. at the McCann Center in Newton. An Italian dinner will be served and music will be provided by the Sully Adult Jazz Band. All proceeds from the fundraiser will go to pay for supplies for the mission trip. Tickets are available at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 1115 S. Eighth Ave. E. “To think for $100 you can make a difference in a whole family’s health for 15 to 20 years is amazing,” Veronica Mangrich said. In addition to funds for the water systems, other supplies are needed for the trip including over-the-counter drugs like aspirin, gently used eyeglasses, children’s vitamins, ointments, school supplies and personal hygiene products. The Mangriches said anyone can help the people of El Salvador by donating an item as small as a toothbrush to funding a water-purification system �” it all makes a difference. “If you look at the whole world you see there is so much to do and we frequently don’t do anything because it’s overwhelming,” Lee Mangrich said. “So we have our little spot in El Salvador and we try to make a difference. Even if it’s just a little one.”