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: "My goal is to achieve the highest grades."
Last year, the students at ACK St. Luke's Shanderema Primary School students spent most of their days taking shifts to go to the community spring to collect water. They missed valuable time in class and were exhausted when they returned. "Before this borehole was drilled in our school, we used to go and fetch water from the spring, which is about ...
A Year Later: "This has helped me love coming to school very early."
At Indangalasia AC Primary School last year, students wasted much of their valuable learning time searching for and collecting water. "We used to get water away from school at a spring, which was difficult since the community uses the same spring," said 14-year-old Metrine N. But since the new well on the school campus was installed last year, th...
A Year Later: Water is the Universal Solvent!
Before we rehabilitated the well at Lungi Government Hospital, the nurses, doctors, and hospital staff struggled with their jobs without sufficient water to perform procedures and keep the facility clean. The well would dry out entirely from April to June, and the nurses would have to leave the hospital compound in search of water, when their time ...
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...