Families: 60 households across 3 villages
Water Committee: 5 men and 5 women

For drinking water, residents of Matambura once had to travel to another village, a journey that took an hour and a half each way. For other household needs, families depended on the Nanyanje River. The community had never had its own water well, making it difficult to access enough safe water throughout the day.

Kones Lewis shared that her family used to visit the clinic three to four times a month for medical assistance, often because of illnesses such as diarrhoea. Although the nearest clinic was only 500 metres away, repeated illness still disrupted family life.

The new 45-metre well is Matambura’s first. It has only been installed for a few weeks, so residents are still adjusting to having water nearby. They hope the well will help reduce waterborne diseases, but it is too early to know what the long-term health changes will be.

One immediate difference is the opportunity to maintain personal hygiene. Previously, some children went to bed without bathing because there was not enough water. Now, families can bathe more than once a day, and children can wash before school and arrive clean and on time.

At Lungumadzi Primary School, reported attendance before the well was 60% for girls and 40% for boys. Residents hope easier access to water will help more children attend consistently, though the community has not yet had enough time to measure any change.

Families are also beginning to think about what they can do with the time saved. Backyard gardens are taking shape, while small businesses and brickmaking are among the plans for improving household income and homes. Loveness, serving on the water committee for the first time, is happy to have been elected. Alongside four other women and five men, she will help care for the well as the three villages make use of this new source.