It's about 5:30 in the morning, and Marina is already up.  Since she has no running water in her house,Marina hauls water in buckets for the portable cement mixer during wall construction. Marina will walk about a kilometer to a river to bathe.  For you and me, walking through the morning chill to a cold shower in a river sounds uninviting, but this is only part of the hardship that Marina will face this morning.  Marina will carry her 20-year-old son to the river, as well. Osmán has a mental handicap that also affects his limbs, making the trek down the mountain extremely difficult.

Marina will be one of the first to receive clean, running water after the completion of the next phase of Project Milagro; but she has been involved longer than most.  She began volunteering over five years ago and now, at 64 years old, continues to haul bricks and dig trenches alongside the men of the community.  Miguel Durán, president of ADSA and community coordinator, says he's lost count of how many times Marina has shown up to a work site to help out.

Marina works just as hard as much younger women to help Project Milagro.In a 2007 interview Marina told ENLACE, “I will be really happy when we get water; things will be better.”  It's the hope of having clean water for herself and her family that motivates her to work so tirelessly.  With continued donations and local volunteer labor, it is possible that within a year Marina will cease her 3-times-per-week trip carrying her son to a river to bathe next to cows and other animals. Perhaps soon Marina and Osmán can have sanitary water running in their home.