Hawa Nayopa - 44-year-old mother of 4

Life was not easy for Hawa before the DMDO brought clean water to Nambahu village: 

We used to limit the use of water to only one bucket for the whole family per day. During the dry season we travelled 10 kilometres to get water or we had to buy water from vendors, which was very expensive [20 litre bucket cost Hawa up to US$0.57 vs US$0.04 with DMDO].  Much of our income was used for water. My husband and I had conflicts because of water scarcity and only 2 or 3 days a week were used effectively for farming.

All of my lifetime our village has faced challenges of water scarcity. One of our neighbours was killed by a lion on her way to fetch water.  She had left her children at 3am to fetch water.

The DMDO brought clean and safe water to Hawa’s village in May 2024.

Hawa sees a bright future; she has the time to provide proper care for her children, who are going to school on time and clean.  Hawa maintains proper hygiene for the household, since water is much cheaper and easily available. Hawa’s husband uses water 5 days a week for more productive farming.  He hopes to generate a surplus for cash income.

Now when we see that we have the water source and water points with a big tank where everyone is fetching water on their own time, we still don’t believe that it has happened because the government and many partners failed but the Diocese of Masasi has made it maybe because they are with God around.  The good thing is that the water point is 10 meters to my house and no waiting time.  Surprisingly the points are self-service.  I have my smart card after I recharge from the agent and even my children can fetch water when I am not at home.

So we thank very much the Diocese of Masasi, World Vision and all other partners and the government for solving our big historical challenge.  I am sure that this year even my cashew nut production will increase as we have more time to work and now I have a better time with my family.” 

Now that Hawa and all 2,737 people living in Nambahu village have had their lives transformed through easy access to clean water, with partner support, DMDO is looking to realise its ambition to serve at least 10,000 new people per year.