In the rural district of Salima, Mponda Village has turned the page on a painful chapter of its history. Thanks to the installation of a deep water well by Water Wells for Africa (WWFA), the community now enjoys what once felt out of reach—safe, accessible, and life-giving clean water.
Before the well, life in Mponda was marked by hardship, illness, and strife. The village’s only source of water was the nearby Kachembere River, which frequently dried up in the dry season. With over 200 households split on either side of the river, every trip to collect water was a challenge—and often, a battle.
The Daily Struggle for Survival
The people of Mponda Village faced a crisis that went beyond water scarcity—it was a fight for survival. Cholera outbreaks, including one in 2023 that claimed the lives of eight community members, plagued the village. Residents, including children, collected contaminated water shared with livestock, and long treks to the river often began before sunrise.
Children like 10-year-old Silata Amos regularly missed school to fetch water, leaving as early as 3am and returning up to six hours later with a single bucket. Education was sacrificed, and tensions flared.
“During the dry season, that’s when the real struggle was happening,” said Alinafe Frank, a mother in the village. “We were sharing the water with livestock. My daughter got into fights with other people waiting in line just to get a turn.”
Elderly residents were even more vulnerable. “You have to be strong to carry a bucket from the river with the steep slope,” recalled 86-year-old Felesia Kalima. “I couldn’t manage anymore. It was survival of the fittest.”
A New Chapter of Health and Hope
Everything changed on March 27, 2024, when WWFA installed a water well in the heart of Mponda Village.
Now, children attend school regularly and on time. According to their mother, Bernadetta Labson, Silata and her brother Moses have dramatically improved in their studies. “Both my children performed well during the past term exams—they were both ranked fourth in their fourth-grade class this past term. They used to fail, but now they have more time to study and never miss class.”
The impact on health has been just as dramatic. Since the well’s installation, the community has reported no cases of waterborne diseases. Women, once forced to spend hours each day searching for water, are now investing their time into businesses, farming, and caring for their families.
“Children are now able to get themselves ready for school while we work in the fields or sell in the market,” one parent shared. “The well brought us peace, time, and safety.”
Water as a Catalyst for Change
The water well at Mponda is more than infrastructure—it’s a force for stability, dignity, and progress. What was once a fractured, struggling community has become a place of learning, health, and productivity.
WWFA’s intervention has given Mponda Village not just water, but a future. And in the eyes of young students like Silata Amos, that future looks brighter than ever.
If you’re inspired by the transformation in Mponda Village, consider joining us in changing more lives through clean water.
