When more than 20,000 people along the Sonora River were left without water after a mine spill, people in the United States with roots in the region were quick to organize.
“We saw the urgency of the need,” said Victor López, a Sierra Vista resident and Banámichi native whose two brothers and mother still live there.
He sought help from companies such as Safeway and also turned to social media where he found U.S.-born and former residents with roots in the Rio Sonora now living in Tucson, Phoenix and Nogales who wanted to help.
In the first month, López said supporters sent about 60 tons of water in his brother’s trailer truck to be stored at the church in Banámichi that’s collecting water from the United States and other parts of Mexico. From there, pickup trucks deliver the water, some with encouraging messages such as, “This water is for you, enjoy it,” or the names of the schools making the donation.
Guillermo Coronado, the priest at the local church in Naco, Sonora, Parroquia San José, offered the church’s installations as a warehouse and a volunteer group to help with the donations.
“The church’s mission is to assist those who have the greatest need,” he said.
Still, he was surprised by the community’s support.
“I didn’t think people would pay much attention to us,” Coronado said. “But when we told our church members about the project, we couldn’t even figure out where to put so much water.”
People even offered their homes to store the gallons and boxes.
In dealing with international boundaries, the group has had to learn how to navigate the Mexican system to get that much water across the border without having to pay taxes. Members have succeeded in crossing over hundreds of boxes but have deemed their effort, “operación hormiga,” or ant operation, since many of them had to move the water little by little over several weeks.
López, who left Banámichi in the late 1980’s to study in Arizona then again in the late 1990’s to live and start his business, said he still gets calls from schools, companies and individuals in the United States wanting to help.
“It was a very beautiful thing to see the willingness of everyone to come together and help,” he said.
