A 1972 trip to Guatemala ended with life-long commitment to water projects

Bruce Clemens '72 left Cornell after graduation with a one-way ticket to Guatemala and a desire to "cure poverty," a mindset he says wasn't unusual among classmates of that time.

Fast forward 54 years and the non-profit that Clemens helped to found there, Aqua del Pueblo, has completed more than 500 water, sanitation and community development projects in the country, covering 1,000 towns and benefitting 500,000 people.

Clemens tells his story as the guest for the March Startup Cornell podcast, hosted by Entrepreneurship at Cornell.

Clemens, who majored in civil and environmental engineering, started the nonprofit with other Cornellians, Americans and Guatemalans working with the Community Development program of the San Lucas Toliman Mission, led by Catholic priest Greg Schaffer.

Over the years, many of Clemens' fraternity brothers in Sigma Alpha Epsilon have supported his work, including Larry Bartlett '72.

"The word that comes to mind when I think about Bruce is passion," said Bartlett, who traveled to Guatemala in January with Clemens and several other fraternity brothers. "He has this light in his eye when it comes to social issues. He had this goal to save the world and this Guatemala project became the thing he was laser focused on."

Bartlett said the trip allowed him to see the organization's impacts. "In these villages, once they get water, then they started building roads, then they put in electric lines," Bartlett said. "It just jumpstarts these villages. They grow and thrive. Businesses get started."

Steve Hindy '71, another fraternity brother, said Clemens played football during his freshman year, but soon became involved with activism on campus.

"That conversion that was not uncommon in the 1960s, when protesting the Vietnam War was an all-consuming calling few could resist and when Black students took over Cornell's Willard Straight Hall on parents' weekend to demand a Black studies program," Hindy said. "It was a time of great change."

Hindy and Clemens both agreed that the fraternity brothers knew how to have fun.

"Like many of us, Bruce was indeed a party animal. But I think everyone who knew him in those years would agree that Bruce, in addition to being an enthusiastic advocate of every task he undertook, had a heart of gold and was a really nice man," Hindy said. "He has not changed."

Cameron Nejat '24 MPH '25, went to Guatemala with three other fraternity brothers in the summer of 2023 to volunteer with Agua del Pueblo.

"The way that Aqua del Pueblo works with the community is inspiring and brilliant," he said. "People in the communities are not only paid and uplifted, but they learn a lot about the water projects so they're able to service them in the future for small repairs."

Najat, who is working with Clemens on a paper about the impacts of Aqua del Pueblo's water projects, said the organization has developed a good model for success with global health projects.

"You truly have to be integrated in communities that you want to serve and understand the history and the culture that you want to serve," he said. "This trip really inspired me to get my MPH and want to have a future in public health."

The Startup Cornell podcast features interviews with Cornell entrepreneurs, who tell their stories of successes and failures and offer actionable advice for building and growing a business. It's available on the Entrepreneurship at Cornell website, as well as Apple podcasts, Spotify and Soundcloud.