Stories from the Field
As we work to provide water, we're committed to helping people like you meet your global neighbors and to realize that we all share the same basic needs. We hope to break down stereotypes and the false distinctions between the so-called winners and losers, rich and poor, the needy and charitable, by introducing you to the people we serve with the respect and admiration they rightfully deserve.
These are stories of hope, told in the words of those who carry out this work every day - our friends in the field.
A Year Later: "I am now strong."
When we first met Gladys in 2020, the water crisis was impacting her ability to mother her children. She would constantly face delays in preparing their meals, washing their clothes, and keeping everyone clean because every trip to the water point meant hours of walking and waiting. "I used to waste a lot of time queuing for water because the disc...
A Year Later: "All water constraints are over."
"Before this time, there was a pump, but the water in the well [dried up] before the month of April," said the 53-year-old farmer and vicechair of the water user committee Mabinty Sesay, describing the community well before its rehabilitation last year. Because community members couldn't rely on the well, they were forced to collect water from oth...
A Year Later: Better Business!
Before we rehabilitated the well in Masoila last year, people spent hours each day walking from well to well and waiting in long lines just hoping for a chance to fill their containers. Getting water was an arduous and thankless task. "Before this time, we and [our] children were having a lot of constraints to fetch water," said 21-year-old trader...
A Year Later: "I never thought I would own a green farm."
"Before the construction of this sand dam, we faced various challenges because getting water was a difficult ordeal," said 42-year-old Ann Mbuvi. Before this past year, life was not easy for Ann and the other community members. They spent most of their time and energy just trying to find enough water to meet their basic needs, ending every day exh...
A Year Later: The Goodness of Having Clean Water
Last year, before a well was installed in Kathungutu Community, community members had to walk nearly three kilometers to collect water. “Before the construction of this project, life was very hard. We used to get water from very far [away], and the water was not very safe for drinking. We did not have enough water for maintaining our hygiene and...