“I had to walk three hours every morning before school.”

This is Leila’s story, recorded in November 2024 with the consent of her and her parents. The original is in Tigrinya; this is the translated version, lightly edited for length. Names of family members have been kept; names of neighbours used pseudonyms at her parents’ request.

Before the well

I am the oldest of four. My job before school every morning was to walk to the river to fetch water. The river is three kilometres from our house. With a 20-litre jerrycan, the round trip took me about three hours. I left at 4am most days. I missed about two days of school every week because of it — the days when school started early or when my mother needed an extra trip to fetch enough water for the family.

The river was not clean. We boiled the water for drinking but we washed and cooked with it without boiling. My youngest sister was sick with stomach problems most months. The clinic in the next village was a 90-minute walk; we usually didn’t go because of the time.

When the well came

The well started being built in May 2023. People came from Non-profit & Charity demo and they asked the elders for permission first. They worked with our community for many months before they started drilling. They paid my brother and four other young men to help with the drilling. They drilled for two weeks. Then the pump was installed in June.

The well is in the centre of the village. From my house it is about ten minutes walk. I now do the morning fetch in twenty minutes total — ten there, ten back. I get to school on time. I haven’t missed a day of school in seven months.

Now

I am at the top of my class in mathematics this term. The teacher says I might be able to go to secondary school in the city if I keep my marks up. My youngest sister hasn’t been sick since July. The clinic visit count for our village is way down — the nurse there told my mother she sees half as many people as she did before the well.

The maintenance cooperative is run by my uncle’s neighbour. He gets paid by Non-profit & Charity demo every year to take care of the pump. He came to repair the pump handle last month after a buffalo knocked into it. The repair took less than a day.

I asked my father why other villages didn’t have wells like ours. He said it’s because most NGOs come, do the work, and leave — and the wells break and the village goes back to the river. He said Non-profit & Charity demo is different because they keep coming back. I hope they keep coming back.

Leila’s village is one of 220 we partner with. The same well-drilling + 10-year maintenance commitment is replicated in every one. Fund another well like Leila’s — or read more about the program.