Water provides a more secure life

When a village gets a well, it changes the lives of the women. The hours previ- ously spent fetching water can now be used instead to create a better life for their families and themselves.

Agnes in Sakhama Village was annoyed that water from the new pump ran towards her house. But then she had an idea. She could use this runoff to grow vegetables. So she started to grow onions which she sold to her neighbours. She could even sell the onion tops.

“It is cheaper to buy onion leaves for spicing,” she explains.

In Chilingulo Village, there is a group of some 30 women who make energy-saving stoves. Such a stove consumes only half as much wood as a traditional African stove. With the water nearby, the group now produces around 400 stoves every month and sell. The stoves save on work and also help preserve the trees in the area.

In Golden Village, the women have formed a group to breed and sell chickens. All the women in the group have daughters that go to secondary school. They use their earnings to cover the cost of schooling for their daughters. The money from two chick- ens cover the cost for a girl for an entire term. There are three terms in a school year.