Cipriano Cantareno works for Agua Para La Vida (Water for Life), which is a non-profit organization that is based in Nicaragua and which designs and implements gravity-fed water systems in some of the more rural regions of Nicaragua. Cipriano is a mason by trade and he was contracted by BTC to work in Fonseca with the Dartmouth CD team to help finish up the potable water project. Felipe Jaramillo ’15 conducted the interview with Cipriano in Fonseca toward the end of the CD team visit.
Click on the Agua Para La Vida website to learn more about the organization.
Audio:
http://youtu.be/ZPZTUtSvGag
For a Spanish transcription of the interview, click here: Cipriano_Interview_EspañolTranscript
Cipriano Cantareno Interview (English)
Felipe Jaramillo: Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Cipriano Cantareno: I was born in the municipality of Rio Blanco, department of Matagalpa. My parents dedicated themselves to agriculture and as time went on we moved to the city of Imatigua and there we continued working on agriculture.
Felipe Jaramillo: Did you study?
Cipriano Cantareno: Unfortunately, I did not.
Felipe Jaramillo: What age did you begin to work?
Cipriano Cantareno: When I was twelve.
Felipe Jaramillo: Are you married?
Cipriano Cantareno: Yes, I have three children, one is named Bertins Helena, age 17, James age 10 and Yoslady, 11 months.
Felipe Jaramillo: How long have you been working for Agua Para La Vida (Water for life)?
Cipriano Cantareno: Seven years.
Felipe Jaramillo: What did you do before?
Cipriano Cantareno: I worked in construction on vertical projects and always with concrete.
Felipe Jaramillo: When did you switch from agriculture to construction?
Cipriano Cantareno: When I was twenty. I worked in construction for fifteen years working on contracts and day to day, whatever I could find.
Felipe Jaramillo: You were telling me about how you survived the [Contra] war. Can you tell us about that a little?
Cipriano Cantareno: The war affected my life a lot. My father was captured and we had to live life running away from the armies so that they wouldn’t capture us and take us to the war camps. There were so many ways that the war on it but basically, we could no longer live without fear.
Felipe Jaramillo: I suppose it affected work as well?
Cipriano Cantareno: Yes, it affected work a lot. I had to make many sacrifices. The conditions were such that you had to figure out how you were going to dress yourself. I had to find work just with my machete because there were no construction jobs and the economic situation was rough. This is how we lived life during the war.
Felipe Jaramillo: Can you compare life during the war to after the war?
Cipriano Cantareno: Now that we, thank God, live in peace, it’s not possible to compare how we lived. Now we can work freely, we can travel the country freely. Then, we couldn’t go anywhere because there was persecution and in the field it was complicated; it was common to see the armies of the Contras. I would compare it to a room without an entrance. You couldn’t go anywhere; you could only look after yourself to make sure no one hurts you.
Felipe Jaramillo: Your wife takes care of your kids?
Cipriano Cantareno: Yes, my wife takes care of them. The eldest is married, the little guy studies, and the baby, well she’s there.
Felipe Jaramillo: What goals/aspirations do your children have?
Cipriano Cantareno: Well, my eldest daughter is married so she just wants to keep living her life with her husband. My little boy says he wants to be an engineer and I hope to God he makes it.
Felipe Jaramillo: How long have you been working in Fonseca?
Cipriano Cantareno: Basically, one year. We have come in four different stages, but we have been coming since December of 2012. Then we started working on the tank. In February we returned and constructed part of the distribution network. We returned in March and built more of the distribution network and then we left 20% of the project to finish in December. Thank God we have finished the work.
Felipe Jaramillo: How do the people receive the work you do day to day for them?
Cipriano Cantareno: This is one of the most beautiful things. You can hear and see, this is the best pay. The people are always so appreciative, primarily for the international organizations that come to donate a good part of it. More so when the organizations get involved with these types of projects. When an organization comes to build a project, we know the system and know how to bring water to communities and houses. They feel happy, very happy to have water in their house.
Felipe Jaramillo: Before the water project, how did the community members get water?
Cipriano Cantareno: They tell me they had to travel twenty or thirty minutes to bring water from the river. Many families went to these wells so sometimes they would have to take turns and wait to be able to supply their necessities. Every family lost a lot of time that way. Now, they economize many hours by working instead of walking to get water. They used to leave the kids alone in the house, now they don’t. It has been a huge help to Fonseca and every community member.
Felipe Jaramillo: Other than Bridges to Community, are there official Government programs that solve these problems?
Cipriano Cantareno: Yes there are the FISA and the CAREN and ENACAL and others that I don’t remember, but there are national organizations that are in charge of these projects but now the demand is for water.
Felipe Jaramillo: What differences have you observed in the work done by these organizations and private organizations?
Cipriano Cantareno: The difference is that we work with less expensive workers. FISE, because it belongs to the government, they take water to the communities but the tubing is very thick and the cost of the project is very high, but the government pays for the difference. The difference is that the government doesn’t pay for the costs of maintenance. Also, if you don’t pay for something, you are most likely not going to take care of it. It’s unfortunate, this mindset that exists in Nicaragua, anything public, or shared, is not taken care of. But if you have to work to pay it, that’s when you take care of something.
Felipe Jaramillo: Is it normal for a community like Fonseca to have water 24 hours a day for such a low cost?
Cipriano Cantareno: This is what I tell them: give thanks to God, and to Bridges for the financial assistance of these projects with other international organizations. It is a blessing to have 24 hours of water a day. Whenever they want, they open the faucet and have water . Where I live, you have water one night a week and it costs 120 or 150 córdobas. For water, you have to stay up until midnight, the hour they designate. Sometimes my wife tells me, look, you work for a water organization and they get water more regularly than us. Where I live is more developed and so organizations don’t focus on cities normally, they focus on communities.
Felipe Jaramillo: What has been your experience with the people of Fonseca?
Cipriano Cantareno: It has been marvelous. Very good, very friendly… They have worked side by side with the brigades and with me always and I’ve been very happy to be with them.
Felipe Jaramillo: What about your experience with Agua para la vida (Water for Life)?
Cipriano Cantareno: Magnificent. There I have nothing to say.
Felipe Jaramillo: Do you see yourself working there in the future?
Cipriano Cantareno: I hope to God to continue as long as it’s God’s will.
Felipe Jaramillo: What aspects about the operation in Fonseca could be improved?
Cipriano Cantareno: No, for me everything was good. We worked well, the model worked, 100% perfectly.
Felipe Jaramillo: Is the model of other organizations similar to the dynamic found in Bridges?
Cipriano Cantareno: Yes, it is similar.
Felipe Jaramillo: Do you want to say anything else for the interview?
Cipriano Cantareno: Nothing more than to thank you as students for coming all the way for this experience. It has been very nice working with you all. Unfortunately, we both have to go because we don’t live here, but it has been a nice experience with you. I feel very pleased and peaceful, it is my first experience working with brigades, but you guys that come from other countries to help with these projects, I hope to God that I get to see you all again, and that you have all succeeded. I feel very happy being able to interact with you all, I hope we see each other again.