Each village has so many needs to meet. With your support each village has a Community Development Committee who help to decide what the biggest needs are in their villages and then they learn to ask for support from local government and non-profits or international organizations. Edwin is a community leader and shares his experience and what he learned.

“My role is the leader of the CDC [Community Development Committee], and it has benefitted us with the ability to create and plan projects.

The difference is that now we have advances on our projects, and in this five-year cycle that we’re finishing, we’ve accomplished a lot. Through all the work of meeting and talking, we go out to plan projects, and look for help to benefit everyone in our community.

Some of the projects have already been completed: road repairs, getting some latrines. We do need electricity and improved roads. We still have projects that we’re searching help for: electricity for the whole community, and the other problem we’re trying to solve is that of water.

We don’t have safe water to drink, it’s scarce, and its dirty water in the well. Those are the main problems we’re looking to solve so we can live peacefully.

We’ve been fighting for this for almost one year. A year of going down to Teustepe each month or every other month to check the progress. We’ve gone down on three different occasions, and since all the offices are close by, we take advantage and knock on other doors. We’re trying to get both these projects. Once we improve the road to our community, we can start the other project [electricity], because our community will be accessible.

CEPAD has taught us in trainings to use these techniques. Sometimes the authorities sleep on the job or they’re stressed and have other problems to solve. They might abandon or forget a project.

We have to be vigilant and go knock on doors and tables. Because we need answers. Families can’t wait, the needs we have don’t wait. The sick people in our community have to walk to the main road and go by bus. If we had more access, we would be able to call a doctor or ambulance to come.”