Before sunrise, she would leave home carrying empty jerricans, walking long distances and hoping to reach a water source before the queues became too long. Some days, she waited for hours under the hot sun. On other days, she returned with dirty river water because there was no safer option available. The same unsafe water was used by both people and animals, exposing the community to illness and increasing the daily burden on mothers and caregivers.

“My children were always suffering from stomach pain and diarrhoea,” Chacha said. “As a mother, I was always tired. I worried constantly because I had no choice except to use unsafe water.”

That changed when ForAfrika repaired the broken borehole near Chacha’s home. For the first time in many months, clean water started flowing again. What may seem like a simple repair has brought meaningful change to daily life for Chacha’s family and the wider community.

Today, Chacha only walks a short distance and fills her jerricans within minutes. Her children are healthier, cleaner, and able to attend school more regularly because they are no longer frequently affected by sickness and have water to prepare for the school day.

“Now we can breathe,” she said.