Families: over 50 + 5 other villages
Water Committee: 4 men and 6 women

Nunguze has been home to its residents since 1986, and until recently, clean water was a distant dream. The villagers relied on a concrete hand-dug well one kilometer away or on shallow wells they dug themselves, which were unsafe. Women often left as early as 4 a.m. and returned around 9 a.m., sometimes only managing one bucket of water. Husbands would already be back from farming, leaving families frustrated and exhausted. Diarrhea was widespread, and the water scarcity made daily life a constant struggle.

Now, the village has access to 8, 15, or even 20 buckets of clean water per day. Families can farm, grow home gardens, and feed their livestock—mostly goats—without worrying about water shortages. Food tastes better, gardens thrive, and men and women are able to share the labor more evenly.

Bathing, which was once neglected or done halfway, now happens three times a day. “Our husbands are very happy and say we don’t smell anymore,” one woman shared. Men are also using the well themselves, helping maintain hygiene throughout the household.

School attendance has improved dramatically. Mary, 71, recalls, “In my time, we weren’t even able to go to school because the water was very far.” Today, children arrive on time, stay in class, and are performing better academically. The community celebrates fewer dropouts and more opportunities for the next generation.

Families are mending, conflicts over water are gone, and households are thriving. The village grows mangoes, tomatoes, and even dry fish to sell, all because they now have time and energy freed from the daily struggle for water.

In Nunguze, the water well has transformed more than daily routines—it has reshaped the life, work, and joy of the entire community.