Prince George resident Cristian Silva, a leader with Team Rubicon International, is asking for support in his quest to provide a million people with clean water by providing water filters to those in need in northern Guatemala.
Silva, who has traveled the world to provide aid to those in crises for decades (and is in Nova Scotia right now helping with Hurricane Fiona cleanup), participated in the mission called Resolute Sentinel 2022 this summer.
The mission was a collaboration with US Southern Command, and the Ministry of Health in Guatemala. The goal was to provide medical and dental attention to communities in Northern Peten, Guatemala.
“I am pretty proud of being part of such a mission - this was a humanitarian mission and we worked closely with local military in addition to US SOUTHCOM,” Silva, a member of the disaster response team, said. “It was an opportunity to show the humanity behind the uniform, and to work shoulder to shoulder with colleagues that stepped into the arena to serve their fellow human beings.”
Silva said when he returned from Guatemala in August he felt like the work wasn’t finished.
“In a discussion with members of SOUTHCOM, Ministry of Health, Guatemala, and Team Rubicon, we noted one of the main reasons for illness that was seen during the mission, was the lack of access to clean water,” Silva said.
With sponsorship from Selen Alpay at Prince George Canadian Tire, Silva returned to Guatemala on his own in September with water purification kits where he trained members of the Ministry of Health, Guatemala, and the Organization of American States (OAS) who then in turn will provide training in water purification to community members.
And the journey continues.
“I plan to go back to Guatemala on my own at the end of October with the aim of delivering an additional 200 water purification kits to areas in the rural north of the country that are not typically accessible,” Silva said. “This lack of accessibility means that on a given day, clean potable water for these communities is rare. In times of natural disaster, access to potable water is impossible. Your help will see clean water in the hands of these rural community members.”
Silva is asking those who are able to purchase and send the water purification kits to his address so he can personally bring them to those in need.
“I am working with airlines that are cooperating with this project as a humanitarian need and will assist in ensuring the kits arrive with me,” Silva said. “We will continue with training community leaders on the proper use and care of the kits so that they can be used for several years.”
To donate contact Cristian Silva at silva@teamrubicon.ca.
