Water well project
Merida is now 68 years old, but her body still remembers the burden it carried for decades. In her community, shaped by traditional African culture, collecting water was a woman’s responsibility—even during pregnancy. For Merida, this meant walking for nearly two hours each day in search of water. The water was needed for everything: cooking meals, bathing her children, washing clothes, and giving the household animals something to drink.
The water she collected was never clean. During the rainy seasons, it was collected from deep, open holes filled with muddy water. Yet this was all they had. Merida endured this hardship through all ten of her pregnancies. There were days when she deliberately refused to fetch water—not out of laziness, but because her body was exhausted, her hands were blistered from digging, and her heart was heavy with fear. Carrying a jerrycan on her head, another in one hand, and a baby strapped to her back was more than her body could bear. She feared miscarrying, yet she still had to hurry home to prepare food for the children she had left behind.
On some days, sickness or sheer exhaustion forced her to stay home, and the family went hungry. During the dry seasons, the ponds she depended on would dry up completely, pushing her to walk even farther into neighboring districts. But instead of compassion, she was often met with rejection. People chased her away, afraid their own water sources would run dry. With tears in her eyes, Merida would plead, “Why can’t you have mercy on me? I have traveled miles just to collect water to cook food for my family. Why send me away to return home with empty jerrycans?”
Today, part of Merida is grateful. Her grandchildren now help fetch water. Still, this brings new worries. Children get distracted and return home late, or she fears sending them to collect enough water. Her household now uses about 200 liters of water a day—for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and for the animals, since livestock are not allowed to drink directly from the dirty ponds.
As she grows older, Merida prays. She prays that one day a clean water well will be brought closer to her home. She dreams of a future where her family can drink clean water without suffering, where women will no longer carry unbearable loads, and where her grandchildren can grow up knowing a life different from the one she endured. Like other homesteads with clean water wells, she hopes her family, too, will one day know dignity, health, and rest.
