Fatima's story

Fatima and her family in Biarro Sinjala.

Credit: WaterAid / Jon Spaull

In Mozambique, one of the world's poorest countries, WaterAid is exploring the most appropriate ways to support communities in cash scarce environments.

One of the main solutions has been to promote protected wells which the communities themselves can afford to maintain as any spare parts needed, like buckets and ropes, are cheap and regularly available.

Biarro Sanjala in the Lichinga province is one of the areas where WaterAid is working. This is an area close to the main provincial town of Lichinga, which shows the vast growth in the area. As space is becoming more scarce families are moving closer to swampy ground and malaria is becoming more prevalent.

WaterAid's partner Estamos works here, helping families to rehabilitate their unprotected wells and helping them build safe and hygienic latrines. Twenty-five year old Fatima Omar, her husband and six children are one of the families that have benefited from the project. Here she explains life with and without the new well.

"Before we had the well I used to collect my water from the swamp," she says, "It was very bad then. We used to get many diseases like diarrhoea. We didn't have many buckets and so we would use the same one that we used with our latrine to collect water with and this spread more diseases.

"Before in the wet season water would flow in to the swamp from the village, taking all the dirt and rubbish with it and it was very dirty.

Eight year old Laura Manuel helps keep the well clean and hygienic.

Credit: WaterAid / Jon Spaull

Then in the dry season there would by very little water and we would have to dig out holes at the bottom of the mud. This was very hard work - it was tiring and I used to get back problems too."

To try and improve their situation Fatima's family then dug a well in their yard. But, as she explains, "it was still unprotected and so the water was still dirty and we still had stomach problems."

So, when Fatima heard of Estamos' work, she was keen to be involved. With advice and support from Estamos Fatima and her family were able to rehabilitate their family well. They dug out the well so that it was deep enough to provide water throughout the whole year, and then lined the well and protected the top with concrete.

Finally a windlass was fitted, along with a dedicated bucket and a lockable cover so that the minimum amount of contamination could occur. The differences to Fatima's family have been immense.

"Now that we have this well the water is much cleaner and we don't have stomach problems any more," Fatima continues. "Now we don't have any problems - we no longer have to drink dirty water and when it rains no dirty water enters the well.

"Before I would have to go and work in the field and would then come back and still have to collect water for my family. This meant I could only make food much later. Now it is much better, the water is very close to my house and so I can always cook early.

"Often the children could not wash before they went to school or they would have to go and collect water before they could wash themselves. They always had to collect water before school. Now they can wash very quickly and then go to school. They always go to school on time now. Their health is much better too now - it is a good well. The well has released our burden."

Because of the simple technology used in the well, the family themselves can maintain it, as Fatima explains, "We look after the well and maintain it. If the rope breaks we buy a new rope, we buy new buckets if we need to. We keep the well clean and we keep the bucket inside the well. The well here is always good and so we are good."