A Year Later: "I can achieve a lot with this water."

We asked 47-year-old Regina Mumbua what life was like before we completed the sand dam and hand-dug well projects in her community.

“Life was very hard because we would hustle a lot for water," Regina said.

"At times, one would spend the night in search of water only to fetch a jerrycan of 20 liters. A child would miss school whenever the parent was supposed to wake up [during the] wee hours to go and queue [at] the river. They would report back home very late for the child to leave for school and at times [we would lack] water for bathing before going to school. It took us four hours to trek to fetch water and get back. This spent most of our time."

But now, one year later, life for Regina and the rest of her community is different.

"Life has changed a lot," Regina continued. "Life is now very simple. I can achieve a lot with this water now. I no longer walk several kilometers to get water. I only have to wake up at the right time, get water, and go back to my farm to do other activities, like growing crops."

Regina recounted to us all of her accomplishments from this past year with water, and hopes to expand that list moving forward.

“In the past year, I have been able to grow bananas, which did not take long," Regina said.

"I have really enjoyed eating [them] without purchasing either water or bananas. I have been dreaming of getting food locally from my farm. So far, so good. My dream is gradually being realized. I am optimistic of achieving even more with the help of this project.”

Regina gives us a tour of her flourishing farm.