According to national statistics, approximately 20% of rural Salvadorans lack access to basic drinking water, and nearly 50% lack access to safe sanitation facilities.
In October 2024, WEFTA volunteers Ryan “Reno” Shields and Tim Wellman traveled to El Salvador, where they conducted a week-long assessment of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions in communities in the departments of Ahuachapán, San Miguel, and La Unión.
This assessment aimed to strengthen partnerships with Paso Pacifico, an environmental conservation organization, and to reconnect with the communities where they previously served as Peace Corps volunteers from 1997 to 2000—Reno as a small business development volunteer in La Unión and Tim as a water and sanitation volunteer in Ahuachapán. Their objective was to gather baseline data on WASH conditions in four communities around Laguna Olomega and one community in Ahuachapán, identify critical needs, and formulate recommendations to improve water access and sanitation in alignment with broader environmental conservation goals.
