Chiapas, Mexico Water Missions Mexico Location: Chiapas, Mexico Number of Safe Water Projects: 26 Number of Staff: 4 Language- Spanish, but many tribes in Chiapas speak languages deriving from their ancestral Mayan heritage GDP Per Capita- $3,300 (the lowest in all of Mexico). Population- >4 million. Poverty Level- Only 50% of households have running water, 25% infant mortality rate, and 21% illiteracy rate. Religion- Catholicism along with pre-Hispanic Mayan rituals, although it varies by tribe.

Climate- Country has a humid, tropical climate
Brief History- One of the poorest regions in the world, let alone Mexico. Settled and harvested by the Mayan tribes early in history, the country still shows signs of its previous culture today.

A couple notes from our Country Director in Mexico, Jeff Feenstra: Significant Accomplishment of 2009: Three communities in Chiapas that we have installed LWTS systems in have been designated as "Comunidad Saludable" by the state health department-"Healthy Community". Santa Maria, Tortuguero the second, and Jerusalen (all Ch'ol communities) have all received the honor and recognition by the local health authorities for the significant improvements in health and hygiene practices thanks to the benefits of the LWTS™. Each community has a small billboard placed along the highway near the entrance in recognition of the achievements they have made in healthy living.

Favorite Story: Nueva Palestina- At the installation/dedication ceremony in March 2010, approximately 1,000 men, women, and children gathered for the celebration! The WMI staff at the dedication scrambled and bought-out all the plastic cups from nearby stores to distribute the clean, purified water, and still ran out of glasses. The community (Tzeltal) is the largest served by WMI in Chiapas to date with a total population of roughly 15,000 people. It is very remote-a two to three hour drive from the nearest town, located in the jungle and the population is almost entirely made up of relocated and displaced peoples from other jungle areas.

People Groups: WMI-Mexico works mostly in the southernmost state of Chiapas, headquartered in San Cristobal de Las Casas. We work predominately with the Tzotzil, Tzeltal, and Ch'ol indigenous groups-descendants of the Mayans. We serve rural communities with between 1,000 and 15,000 people whose water sources are typically contaminated surface or shallow groundwater.

To donate to our Mexico Country Program, please go to my.watermissions.org/donate and designate Mexico Country Program.