{"id":3873,"date":"2026-04-25T22:34:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T22:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/water4lifeglobal.org\/?p=3873"},"modified":"2026-04-25T23:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T23:05:08","slug":"because-we-are-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/water4lifeglobal.org\/es\/because-we-are-water\/","title":{"rendered":"BECAUSE WE ARE WATER"},"content":{"rendered":"
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”BECAUSE WE ARE WATER” subhead=”WRITTEN BY EMIIE STREET” button_one_url=”https:\/\/water4lifeglobal.org\/about-us\/” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” link_option_url_new_window=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px|||” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|false” sticky_enabled=”0″ make_equal=”on” use_custom_gutter=”on” min_height__hover_enabled=”on|desktop”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
\nRecently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Water 4
Life co-founder, Jenna MacEwen. The story she shares
of her journey starting the non-profit is one of organic
and synchronistic growth. What started as an effort to
supply as many families as she could with water filters,
slowly transformed into a much larger mission of
reconnecting with the natural world and empowering
women in their roles as protectors of their communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The story begins when Jenna first began travelling in<\/span><\/p>\n
2017 at the age of 26. On her travels, for the first time,
she encountered extreme poverty, witnessing homes
and families that were affected by lack of access to
basic resources. On top of this, she contracted a parasite
that badly impacted her health. With the convergence of
these two experiences, she was forced to recognize the
harsh reality that many people face around the world, where clean water access is unreliable. Just as so many of us do when confronted by an uncomfortable truth, she began to question her own assumptions about the world, her privilege, and her potential role in creating change.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/water4lifeglobal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Blog_Jenna.jpg” alt=”Contaminated Water” title_text=”Blog_Jenna” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”20px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding=”9px|||||”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
\u201cComing from the United States, a culture that just needs more and more and more, it just made me really question \u2018what does it mean to have more when there are others that don\u2019t have basics? Their essentials?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
Unwilling to resign herself to this reality, Jenna instead asked what she could do, and ran her first fundraiser in San Diego the following year, raising $3,000 to purchase the first water filters.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cI guess it was just a very humble start of… I had no idea how to run a non-profit, very bluntly, had no idea what I was doing, but I had passion, I had drive, I had commitment, and I was willing to be in service. I think at the core I had so much service blood that I couldn\u2019t deny the power that was within me to make change, and so I just took one step in front of the other.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
According to UNICEF, in 2024, 2.1 billion people globally lacked access to safe drinking water, and 287 million people had limited services to water. In many parts of the world, even if someone has running water in their home, the local municipalities often shut it off with no notice. During the first water filter deliveries, Jenna recalls families she met that would store large buckets of water for days at a time, unsure of when the water would turn back on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still have memories [of] going into families\u2019 homes, and hearing the stories of families not having water for 8 to 10 days, and in every single house, you would see them with these really large buckets of water everywhere, and those buckets were rationing their water…. They would store up the water whenever it would turn on and that was the water that they had to cook with, had to clean with, had to drink from, and to bathe with.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
These experiences only pushed her to grow Water 4 Life, expanding not only the team, but also, the scope of work involved. Through this growth, the model evolved based on patterns perceived from working closely in these communities. Overtime, it became apparent that lack of access to clean drinking water was only one part of a much larger problem.<\/p>\n
Being primarily located in the Lake Atitlan basin, there are many families that use the lake as an unfiltered source of drinking water, and as the lake becomes further contaminated with each passing year, more families are at risk for contracting water borne diseases while the ecosystems within the lake continue to degrade.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you go to the root of the problem of clean water access, you\u2019re going back to this imbalance in protecting the source of water, and so as this evolved, of like hey we\u2019re providing clean water, it turned into, no we need to bring awareness and education around the protection of water.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
With the recognition of the complex nature of the problem, came the understanding of our inextricable relationship with the natural world\u2014an understanding that when our environment suffers, so do we, and that in order to take care of ourselves, we must take care of the world around us.<\/p>\n
Slowly, the work grew to include environmental education, trash clean ups and the installation of greywater and black water treatment systems to intercept and treat contaminated water before it enters the lake.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/water4lifeglobal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Blog_Janna01.jpg” alt=”Empowered Woman” title_text=”Blog_Janna01″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||-2px|||” custom_padding=”|||0px||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/water4lifeglobal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/blog_03.jpg” title_text=”blog_03″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
On top of this, a pattern emerged in which women appeared to be making up a large majority of those receiving and installing the water filters in their homes. Seeing how involved women were in the process of caring for their families and communities, the team decided it was important to empower local women to lead the charge in creating change for their individual communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt became so clear to us that this was a women\u2019s project, this was the provider for the family… women are here to provide life\u2014they are the representative of life, of water\u2014and so it became really important for us as we evolve to have women be the voices of the water, the voices of health and wellbeing and environmental protection.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
Since 2019, Water 4 Life has trained 37 Water Guardians\u2014these local leaders are women who act as the primary point of contact for organizing water deliveries and providing both health and environmental education in their communities. They work directly with the municipalities and provide the organization with a continuous touchpoint in the local communities.<\/p>\n
Seven years into this work, the organization continues to grow and adapt to new challenges as they\u2019re presented. Jenna\u2019s continued passion is made clear by the conviction in her voice as she shares her experience. In reflecting on what motivates her to continue, her response is simple:<\/p>\n
\u201cI am water\u2014so why wouldn\u2019t I protect it? I don\u2019t need something external to motivate me, I believe in it, I stand by it, I am it.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
Her message rings true. We drink it every day, we use it to bathe ourselves, brush our teeth, wash our dishes and clothes. It makes up around 60% of our body, and 90% of our blood- running through our veins, pumped through our body by our most vital organ, the heart. To deny the necessity of water to any human, animal or ecosystem, is to deny life itself.<\/p>\n
The same question might be asked to each of us, and the answer would be just as simple. Why should we support protecting water? Why should we support access to clean water? Because we are water. To protect our waters is not only to protect our environment, it is <\/strong>not only to protect vulnerable communities\u2014it is to protect one of the most essential <\/strong>substances from which we are made. It is to protect the beating of our hearts. It is to <\/strong>protect life.<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/water4lifeglobal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/blog_Jenna04.jpg” title_text=”blog_Jenna04″ _builder_version=”4.27.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Water 4Life co-founder, Jenna MacEwen. The story she sharesof her journey starting the non-profit is one of organicand synchronistic growth. What started as an effort tosupply as many families as she could with water filters,slowly transformed into a much larger mission ofreconnecting with the natural world and empoweringwomen […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-water-crisis"],"yoast_head":"\n
BECAUSE WE ARE WATER - Water4Life Global<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n