Two Texas A&M University students who installed a drinking water well in an impoverished El Salvador village were recognized for their selfless service abroad during a customer appreciation breakfast earlier this month at the Equine complex.
Caroline Matlock, a class of 2017 genetics major from Houston, and Aimee Bourey, a class of 2020 biochemistry major from Denton, each received $1,950 from SSC to cover travel and other expenses to spend Aug. 20-26 in Puente Viejo for what they called an “inspiring” trip in partnership with Living Water International and Weathermatic.
“Clean water is one of the most important things in the world health wise, and it’s such a luxury in a lot of places, so I think it was important to be able to bring that to a community,” Matlock said.
Bourey, who is studying environmental sciences as a minor, said she was happy to be involved with the one of the world’s pressing problems at the ground level.
“The world is in a global water crisis right now,” Bourey said. “We’re running out of fresh clean water for people, so any way that I can help remedy that is really awesome.”
Prior to the work conducted by Bourey, Matlock and students from Texas A&M International and Prairie View A&M, the only access villagers had to water was by way of a pool that formed by a nearby river with a pump that was difficult for some to operate. But after going through the laborious and muddy process of drilling nearly 250 feet into the ground, pouring concrete and erecting a pump, the villagers have access to clean, easily accessible water.
In addition to their water well efforts, the group of students also taught the villagers hygiene practices and spent time getting to know them that week. This helped the students to grasp the positive impact they were having on many lives.
“We saw turned-over refrigerators used to collect rainwater, a handmade well, and a myriad of pets,” Matlock wrote in a reflection. “During this time, I realized the impact we were about to make on their life by providing them access to reliable clean water for years.”
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Contact: Sarah Boreen, Customer Relations Manager, Texas A&M University – Facilities Services provided by SSC, 979-458-3479, sarah.boreen@sscserv.com.
