When she first started as the secretary of the Gonzalo Maldonado Water Committee, Doña Luisa convinced households in her community to install water meters and establish a system where households only pay for the water they use, a model that now helps the community fix and maintain their water system.

“The meters are like teachers,” she says. “They teach the community how to take care of their water system.”

As the water board’s president she introduced sanitation loans (a first for Honduras) to help 16 families in the Las Crucitas community build pour-flush toilets. The loans, which the board distributes to the committees, are paid back through the user’s monthly bills.

“I do what I can to support my community,” Doña Luisa explains. “I give my time. I don’t like to say no. I feel happy helping people.”

Her impact goes beyond the number of meters installed and tariffs collected in her own community. She has galvanized 25 water committees that belong to the association to operate, administer, and maintain their water systems, increased user education, and fostered the participation of women in the association and on the boards.

“When I first met Doña Luisa in 2008, it was clear she was not just a strong Honduran woman and leader,” explains Mark Duey, the Latin America Regional Manager at Water For People. “But that she had what it takes to create systemic change in her home district of El Negrito and lead the charge on Forever there.”

But her influence doesn’t stop there. As a mother of eight, she was able to send most of her children to college and helps raise one of her six grandchildren.

With meters promoting water conservation, loan payments coming in, and communities rallying behind her, it is safe to say that Doña Luisa’s work will continue to influence generations to come.