A Year Later: Savings for Storybooks!

Before we protected the spring in Mwituma last year, community members had to mince their way down a steep slope in order to access the water each day. Community members reported many falls and injuries from fetching water.

"Before the protection of the spring, it was hard for me to access [the] water because it [was such a] slippery slope," said seven-year-old Eliya. "And, also, the water was open to contamination."

With each rainstorm, the spring became flooded with farm chemicals, animal and human waste, and other harmful contaminants. Drinking this water inevitably made community members sick.

But after a year of clean water accessed via stairs, worrying about the dangerous terrain around the spring construction is nothing but a memory for them.

Eliya continued: "Since the protection of the spring, it has been so easy for me to access the water using [the] staircase, and thus [I] save time for me to study and also to assist my mother to fetch water for home chores."

Eliya at the spring.

Along with good health, Eliya can now brag about a growing library at home—funded by his own garden.

"I have been able to plant vegetables at home and sell," Eliya explained. "The money I get from the [sales], I use to buy myself storybooks."

We hope that Eliya enjoys his new adventures in fictional worlds.