From Strain to Flow: How Clean Water Is Changing Life in Chiawa

For the community in Chiawa, a hand pump borehole drilled in 2014 became a source of daily strain. Long queues formed daily, placing a particular burden on elderly women and children. Women often had to wait for their children to return from school to help with the strenuous task of pumping, which cut into the children's crucial rest and study time, contributing to decreased school performance. Furthermore, during hot, dry months like October, dropping water levels made the hand pump increasingly difficult to use, compounding these challenges.

Primrose Community Health Organization, with support from African Collaborative Fund, rehabilitated and upgraded the existing hand pump into a modern tap water system. This critical intervention transformed the water access point from a site of exertion into four water access points, designed to serve over 40 households and 200 community members directly.

The impact of the new tap system has been profound and multifaceted, as shared by a community member Ms. Josephine. “The exhausting queues and physical struggle are gone. Water now flows instantly, saving valuable time and reducing the physical strain on community members," Ms. Josephine explains. She can now effortlessly fill a 200-liter drum, a task that was previously arduous.

Children are freed from the burdensome chore of fetching water after school using from a hand pump borehole. This allows them proper time to rest and study, removing a key barrier to their academic performance.

The system ensures a consistent water supply even during the hottest, driest months, overcoming the seasonal shortages of the past. This reliability benefits not only households, but also the domestic and wild animals that depend on the water source.

The success of the taps has sparked ambition. Households connected and extended the water supply directly to their homes, fostering a powerful sense of progress and self-sufficiency.