San Pedro Nuevo is a village of 135 people nestled at the foot of the Telica volcano in Northern Nicaragua. In 2007 the drinking water in this region was found to be naturally contaminated with arsenic. Drinking water like this over long periods of time can lead to life threatening illness.

The one water source in the village - an open, hand-dug well - contains water in relatively moderate amounts (up to 20 µg/l) but when the water levels are low people often have to collect water from further afield where arsenic levels are higher. The past two years of drought have made matters worse.

How long does it take you to collect water? In our campaign video, Marling tells us how she and her two daughters can spend up to 3 hours collecting water each day. It takes all three of them to get the job done. One rides the horse to pull the water bucket up the well while the other two fill up the jerry cans. This takes its toll on their quality of life. Sometimes her daughters miss school because they have to help her collect water.

So we started a project to find a new, safe water source and pipe it to everyone's home. We have laid 2km of pipe, fitted every house with a connection and drilled a well to a source of water that is free from arsenic. We partnered with the local government to provide materials and worked closely with the community members to ensure they can manage the system themselves. We are so close to making clean water in San Pedro Nuevo a reality.

We just need one final push to connect the community to the water. This requires electricity and a pump-house at the source. And then Marling, her family and everyone else will, for the first time ever, have clean and safe drinking water running in their homes.