For coffee-growing families of rural Guatemala, the same water that sustains a livelihood must also sustain life at home; but what happens when there isn’t enough? Coffee brings people together all over the world. It’s where first dates begin, friendships deepen, deals get made, and long-overdue conversations finally happen. Whether it’s a simple cup of black coffee or…
Meet Marina, a coffee farmer and mother in Cipresales, Guatemala. She’s been growing coffee since she was 10, yet today, she and her community still lack access to safe water. There’s more behind your cup than you think. Before it reaches your kitchen table, your coffee has traveled through generations, farms, families, and communities. It carries the…
My trip to Guatemala with Healing Waters was my first time visiting the field with the organization, and I carried a quiet mix of anticipation, gratitude, and nervous energy as I prepared to go. I had traveled to the developing world before, but it had been a while. There is always something sacred and unsettling…
“If it doesn’t rain, we will die.” When Maria said this, she wasn’t exaggerating. She was describing what life is like in Cipresales. Her home is filled with containers: buckets, barrels, anything that can hold water. Like many families in the community, they depend almost entirely on rainwater. When it rains, they collect as much as they…
When most people think about unsafe water, they picture water that looks dirty or causes immediate illness. And they’re right—drinking unsafe water can quickly lead to serious health issues. In fact, at any given time, nearly half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by people suffering from waterborne diseases. But there’s another danger that often…
The holiday season invites us to reflect on renewal — on the quiet ways new beginnings take root in places longing for hope. At Healing Waters, we see these moments of transformation every day. And so often, they begin with something as simple and sacred as water. Because water touches every part of life, its presence…
On July 8, 2025, everything changed for the children of ROSALBALI—a cluster of small, tight-knit communities tucked into rugged terrain in Chiapas, Mexico. That day, Healing Waters International, in partnership with local government municipalities, inaugurated a safe water system that now pumps water from the river, purifies it, and delivers it directly into homes and community…
At Healing Waters, resilience isn’t just a core value—it’s a lifeline. It’s what allows us to keep showing up in some of the most difficult places on earth, where safe water is not a given, but a distant dream. While we’re used to certain conveniences here in the U.S., working in global contexts requires a…
What happens when an engineer trades his desk for the rugged terrain of a field project in Mexico? A lot of problem-solving, a few surprises, and a deeper appreciation for the impact of clean water. Joey, an engineering consultant from the U.S., recently joined Walter, the Lead Engineer of Healing Waters, on a trip to Rosalbali,…