Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: Safe Water Project Transforms Life in El Fortín, Mexico
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Sept. 17, 2025) – For families in El Fortín, a remote farming and fishing village in southern Mexico, the daily struggle for clean water was a constant worry. That changed in 2024 when Water Mission, in partnership with Food For The Poor (FFTP), completed a safe water project that now serves the entire community of 1,500 residents.
This achievement is being recognized as FFTP commemorates Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to honor the deep cultural roots, rich traditions, and enduring spirit of Hispanic communities. For FFTP, the celebration includes recognizing the resilience of the people we serve and the people who serve alongside us across Latin America.
The project provides safe drinking water through a new well, pump, and community bottling station, while also supporting the local school, preschool, health clinic, and church. In addition, families in need are benefiting from newly built or restored latrines to improve sanitation.
One resident, Dulce, was six months pregnant when the project began. Like many in El Fortín, her family relied on a shallow surface well for daily chores and purchased costly bottled water for drinking, which was not always safe.
“I am a little nervous because this is my first baby,” Dulce said. “Using well water can give them skin and stomach infections. Many children have died from the water. But with safe water, I will be able to bathe my baby and know he is protected.”
Today, Dulce and her neighbors celebrate the gift of safe water that brings health, dignity, and relief.
“At Food For The Poor, our work is grounded in the values we share with the people of Latin America, including faith, family, resilience, and generosity,” said FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine. “This Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate those values and honor the people of El Fortín, whose unity and perseverance inspire us. Together with our longtime trusted partner Water Mission, we are working to ensure that safe water, which is a basic human right, brings health and hope to families.”
Beyond improving health, the project also supports economic sustainability. Through an enterprise model with a bottling station, El Fortín families now have access to affordable safe water and the opportunity to support ongoing system maintenance.
Water Mission and FFTP’s partnership in El Fortín reflects a broader commitment to addressing urgent needs across Latin America while uplifting the heritage and contributions of Hispanic communities during Hispanic Heritage Month and beyond.
“Our shared work with Food For The Poor is transforming lives with safe and Living Water, said Water Mission CEO and President George Greene IV, PE. “Together we are meeting the physical and spiritual needs of thousands of people living in communities within Mexico, Honduras, and Peru.”
About Water Mission
Water Mission is a Christian engineering nonprofit that builds sustainable safe water solutions for people in developing countries, refugee camps, and disaster areas. Since 2001, Water Mission has served more than 8 million people in more than 60 countries, sharing safe water and the message of God’s love. Water Mission’s global headquarters is in North Charleston, S.C., and the organization serves people in Africa, Asia, and North, South, and Central America. Charity Navigator has awarded Water Mission its top four-star rating 18 years in a row, a distinction shared by less than 1% of the charities rated by the organization. To learn more, visit watermission.org, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter.
About Food For The Poor
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the United States, is committed to facilitating paths out of poverty and transforming lives. As an interdenominational Christian ministry, we help families across Latin America and the Caribbean. Our efforts span urgent humanitarian relief and long-term development – from emergency aid and hunger alleviation to education, housing, and economic empowerment. We follow a distinctive approach that integrates faith, multi-sector strategies, and trusted partnerships. Whenever possible, we strive to work at the community level, partnering with local leaders and residents to co-create sustainable solutions that address the multi-dimensional nature of poverty. For more information, please visit foodforthepoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Communications
954-471-0928
[email protected]
