GONZALO JIMENEZ

Gonzalo (on the right) was born in Puerto Rico Caquetá, Colombia. His family lived in remote places among the indigenous people. Since birth, he has faced obstacles that come with living in developing conditions, and in areas of guerrilla conflict. Although he lives near one of the largest rivers in the world, and it rains throughout the year, having access to clean drinking water is still a challenge for everyone in the region.

Despite these challenges, Gonzalo studied in the United States on scholarship for the nine years. Gonzalo studied Aviation, Languages and Linguistics, and received his Masters in Cinema and Video Production in the United States. During his studies he would spend his summers in the Amazon drilling wells with his team, Agua & Vida. After he completed his studies, he moved back to Colombia and by 2013 formed a partnership with Wine To Water. There are currently about 400 broken wells in his particular region of the Amazon. Gonzalo shares that “in 2016, I would like to focus on repairing wells. My goal is to rehabilitate all the broken wells here in the Amazon and bring them back to life.” Giving clean water is like giving people life.

Gonzalo and his wife, Carmen, currently reside along the Amazon River, where Colombia, Brazil and Peru meet. The obstacles Gonzalo faced while growing up are still present today. It is hot and humid, water is not always easily accessible, rainwater runs out, and resources are scarce. However, Gonzalo’s passion is greater than all of these things. Gonzalo says, “I am passionate about seeing everyone in the Amazon region have access to water in their house, not just access in their community, because that’s what really makes the greatest change in someone’s life.”