Peruvian man lives with disabilities due to contaminated water
August 28, 2018 | Monte Castillo, Piura, Peru
Manuel was a strong, productive man in the village of Monte Castillo, Peru. That is, until he drank contaminated water that placed him in a downhill spiral of worsening health that threatened his life and has forever changed his life and the well-being of his family.
Jacob Niemeier, executive director of Vera Aqua Vera Vita, a non-profit faith-based organization based out of Dallas, Texas, met Manuel in 2016 when Manuel was working as a utility agent and managing the small water and wastewater infrastructure in the village where Manuel lives. Monte Castillo is located in the extreme north and west part of the country of Peru. It is located near the town of Piura.
“Manuel was strong, vibrant, and a healthy man full of energy,” said Niemeier.
Since 2016, Manuel's health has deteriorated greatly because the water he drank from a local unknown water source contained larval eggs from parasitic worms.
“He was medically diagnosed to have the worms but not before the parasitic worms debilitated him,” said Niemeier.
A parasite is an organism that lives within or on a host and varies widely. The Medical News Today website reports that the host can be another organism or animal, such as a human being.
“The parasite uses the host's resources to fuel its life cycle. It uses the host's resources to maintain itself. Most parasites are not visible to the human eye, but some worm parasites can reach more than 400 yards in length,” states MNT.
Furthermore, parasites are not a disease, but they can spread diseases and have different effects.
For Manuel, the larval eggs were found in his bloodstream and invaded his brain and hatched into parasitic worms that began to slowly and painfully paralyze him,” said Niemeier. Manuel is now in a wheelchair.
“He subsequently lost a dangerously unhealthy amount of weight, motor skills and his speaking skills were greatly impaired, and his life was changed forever,” said Niemeier. “But with modern medicine, and by the grace of God, doctors were able to remove the worms… but the damage had already been done,” he said.
“Bear in mind, he got sick because honestly, more often than not,” said Niemeier. “He and the people of Monte Castillo have no choice but to drink the water they can get and just hope and pray they don’t get sick.” The World Health Organization that there are more than 800 million individuals that lack reliable, clean water on this planet.
“In August of 2018, Vera Aqua Vera Vita was working in solidarity with and empowering the people in Monte Castillo with the development of a water treatment facility which has sensec commenced operations,” said Niemeier. “The facility and its operations officially began flowing clean, safe water in August of 2019.”
With the new water treatment plant, there is now access to clean drinking and cooking water for the 7000 residents of Monte Castillo which has dramatically changed the lives of the people so they no longer have to fear getting sick from contaminated water.
“It has begun to help them to go from simply surviving to ultimately thriving as God intended them to be,” said Niemeier.
