Water Helps Women Like Loice Become Self-Reliant!

Last year, your gift unlocked the potential for a brighter future for Loice. Since then, she and the Ikoli Community of 210 residents have had clean, reliable water. Your contribution has made a significant impact. Thank you for making a difference!

"The water from our spring is exceptionally refreshing with a distinct taste. Since its protection, it has become a source of pride for us," said Loice.

Before the Spring Protection

Thirty-seven-year-old farmer Loice Amos is responsible for collecting water to meet her and her family’s daily water needs. Before the water intervention last year, that task stole her time and negatively affected her health.

Drinking the water caused severe consequences. Many in her community suffered from waterborne diseases that created health problems, affecting their daily lives. The spring's limited accessibility also meant people wasted time trying to collect sufficient water to meet their needs. The difficult journey to collect water sapped their physical and emotional energy, creating roadblocks and sometimes preventing them from earning a livable income. This negatively impacted their ability to care for their families.

People collect water before the spring's protection.

"Initially, our spring was only partly constructed, with just the headwall in place. The rest of the area, including where the water source was located, remained open, making it open to contamination from different sources. Additionally, there were issues with drainage at the spring site. As a community, we lacked unity in maintaining cleanliness around the drawing area and drainage. Consequently, surface water accumulated, creating a constant pool at the drawing area where we had to step [into] the water to collect water. This resulted in skin ailments and other water infections among community members," shared Loice.

Since the Spring Protection

Your generous gift last year was much more than a simple donation; it was a powerful statement about your commitment to this community and Loice’s future. By supporting the water solution, you made clean water an everyday reality for her, fostering hope for a brighter future.

Loice at the protected spring.

Reliable and clean water lays the groundwork for improved health, education, and economic possibilities, allowing people like Loice to thrive. We frequently hear from those we interview that "water is life!"

"Getting water is much easier. We just place our water containers under the pipe and in less than one minute we have our water and head home," said Loice.

"My health is better, drinking enough clean safe water has benefitted my skin. It's now brighter and glowing. We don't have to worry about water or water-related ailments," continued Loice. "With water easily accessible, I have been able to venture into activities I did not have time for [before]. I am now an active chama (micro-savings group) member and have built good relationships with my fellow community members."

The Future is Looking Bright!

A year ago, you made a difference for Loice and the rest of her community. This is just the first chapter of their story as access to clean water continues to improve their lives!

At The Water Project, we value sustainability and want to ensure that people continue to thrive. We commit to monitoring this project to ensure the water is always flowing and safe to consume. We inspect the system hardware, track water availability, conduct sanitary inspections, and collect water quality samples to identify risks. We work with our team on the ground to resolve them.

You gave Loice a crucial tool for achieving her dreams: access to clean water. Together, we can excitedly expect that with this precious resource, her enthusiasm and courage will help her fulfill her dreams.

"I have given greater focus to farming. With water available, I want to ensure that [all] year-round my farm has food produced. This will help me have an extra income and also my family will have food," shared Loice.

"Hopefully the waterpoint will open up for more projects in our community. In the women's group I am in, we have [a] vision of supporting every member to be self-reliant. I am positive we will get there!"

Loice watering the garden.