A Year Later: Clean Water, Anytime!

"Before the construction of this project, getting water was a different story altogether," said 17-year-old Everlyne K.

Before we installed a sand dam and shallow well in Lema Community last year, the community members struggled every day, walking kilometers back and forth to the closest water source.

"Having to walk for [so] long could exhaust us such that after fetching water one could do nothing," Everlyne continued. "It was such a tedious journey we often referred to it as a ‘walk for water.' We did not like it at all, but the situation forced us to be enslaved."

But now, a year later, such worries are long gone.

"Now, I can testify that the slavery thinking has been erased by this project," Everlyne said. "We feel good just walking a few meters to fetch clean water any time of the day and any season of the year. I am now happy to get clean water. I have a plan to plant more trees at home in order to make the environment more appealing."

And Everlyne still remembers the important parts of the hygiene and sanitation training we held, which has improved everyone's health.

"I focus on improving sanitation levels at my home so that no one gets sick," Everlyne concluded. "I have managed to fight viruses, including COVID-19, by washing my hands and keeping the proper sanitation levels at home. No one of late has been reported to be sick from [drinking] unsafe water."