Safe Water Brings New Opportunities
April 29, 2014
Anastasia enjoying a glass of safe water from her community's safe water solution.
Anastasia’s words mirror what many community members tell us after receiving safe water—stories of improved health and lack of disease. However, Anastasia told us that the change wasn’t just restricted to the physical well-being of her community. She pointed to a well by her home and told our staff how this shallow well used to be the main water source for those living around her. Anastasia would have preferred to use the scant water in her well for her garden, but the need for water in her community was too great.
“People would come to fetch untreated water at my shallow well and I would not refuse to help them because I knew they were in need. At that time, farming by irrigation was not possible because I could not watch my neighbors and their children die of thirst while I had some water.”
Now that her neighbors get their water from a safe water distribution point nearby, Anastasia no longer has to worry about whether there will be enough water for her neighbors. Now she uses the well water to nourish her garden. “As you can see I am transplanting my tomatoes and will use drip irrigation to water them,” she said proudly. “I thank God for our donors and Water Missions for the help.”
The people of Kitunduni can now enjoy the benefits of safe water.
Other women in Kitunduni have also felt the economic benefits of the safe water project. Irene, one of the operators of the new system, has had her entire family’s quality of life transformed by the job the safe water solution has given her. “I am grateful to God for the special gift of safe water He has given to us. Now I have a job, and I am able to feed my family well,” she said.
“I am also happy,” Irene added, “because the people in this community have more time to engage in ways of improving their living standards. Earlier, most people spent a lot of time searching for water and could not do meaningful business. Nowadays businesses are flourishing. This is a dream that seemed far-fetched before.”
Safe water access has the power to transform a community by not only improving health but also by opening up economic opportunities that were previously unimaginable. When women and children no longer spend their days collecting water, they can go to school or get jobs, the first steps to breaking free from the cycle of poverty.
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