Families: 150
Water Committee: 4 men and 6 women

In Chalamanda 2, the women on the new water committee carry a quiet pride—leadership was something they never expected to be invited into. Their excitement is rooted in years of hardship. The village once had a borehole, but when it dried up they were forced back to the Mudi River. For two to three months each year, women woke at 2 a.m., walked more than an hour and a half, and waited in massive lines until sunrise. Those long, tense mornings often spiraled into chaos—fights broke out three or four times a day, buckets were smashed, and some women were even hospitalized with broken bones.

Eveles Rahael remembers her mother coming home from the river with cracked buckets, a symbol of just how intense the struggle for water had become. Today, that era already feels distant. With a working, reliable water well in the heart of the village, life has opened up again. Behind the banana trees, families are tending vegetable gardens that were nearly impossible to maintain before. Meals can be prepared on time. The rhythm of home life feels steady again.

Children—who used to arrive late to school or be sent home entirely—now start their mornings with enough time and enough water. Parents are hopeful: with the term just beginning, they expect to see grades rise as their children finally have the stability they need to succeed.

For the first time in a long time, Chalamanda 2 feels peaceful. The mornings are calm. The fights are gone. And the women leading the way feel grateful and ready for what’s ahead.