Bridges Receives Anonymous Donation for Solar Water Project in Nicaragua

An anonymous donor has given $25,000 to Bridges in memory of Douglas Wardle, a student at St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Virginia, for the purpose of building a solar-powered water project to a rural community in Nicaragua. The venture will make potable water accessible for over 300 individuals in the remote area of Siuna. The gift was made in part to recognize Douglas Wardle’s commitment to the people of Nicaragua and his love for the country where he was volunteering when he died from a sudden, unexpected brain aneurysm in 2007 while on his second Bridges’ trip.

Executive Director Kevin Mestrich announced the contribution stating, “This gift will help Bridges to bring clean water to about 325 people, of whom 195 are children. We live in a country where we take drinkable water for granted. Until now, the people in this community have not had good drinking water.”

Bridges plans to include the use of solar power to pump the water from the well that will be dug. Since there is no electricity in this area of Nicaragua, generators are used to pump water from distant locations. Solar power will be cheaper, more accessible and easier for the Siuna community to maintain over time.

“This generous donor, who wishes to remain unknown, will change the life of this community. Now the people in the community will have accessible clean water and they will not have to spend most of their days carrying contaminated water from a local river to their homes,” said Mestrich.