Collective Medicine in Window Rock, AZ seeks to provide clean water and essential resources to Navajo and Hopi reservations while also addressing deep-seated inequalities in society. The lack of access to clean water on the reservations has exposed these inequities, disproportionately impacting elders and other vulnerable members of the community. One in three families on the Navajo Nation do not have running water in their homes, so they must drive for miles to haul barrels of water to meet their basic needs. This water often comes from unregulated sources, like livestock wells and springs. Since its founding in May 2020, Collective Medicine has delivered over one million gallons of water to over 80 communities and is developing a research program that will use high-quality digital water testing equipment for rapid onsite results to share with community members. Their mission is not just to deliver resources, but to deliver a message of empathy, compassion and unity to the world.
Water Warriors United members have delivered 168 cases of bottled water along with 825 gallons of fresh drinking water to community members in one day.
Collective Medicine is a small nonprofit doing powerful work on a big scale: improving the health and well-being of underserved communities across the Navajo Nation. Founded by Zoel Zohnnie, a Diné (Navajo) public health professional, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Collective Medicine works to address the social and economic determinants of health, such as poverty, housing and food insecurity by providing a variety of services to underserved communities, including clean water, free and low-cost healthcare services at mobile health clinics; food sovereignty programs that help people grow and access healthy food; community-based programs to promote healthy eating, physical activity and mental health; and advocacy for health equity policies. Collective Medicine is committed to working with community members to develop solutions that meet the unique needs of their communities while building capacity within those communities to facilitate their own health and well-being efforts.
Sasquatch Fellowship is a campaign to bring firewood to elders on Navajoland. Through the fellowship, they can bring together organizations, companies, and community members to help obtain, saw and split firewood to families in need.