“Now, my kids have everything to succeed”: Holy's story
29-year-old Landiniaina – known as Holy – lives in a small village around 50km east of Madagascar's capital. Most people here are small-scale farmers or labourers, earning less than £1 a day.
A proud mother to two daughters, eight-year-old Fitia and three-year-old Sarobidy, Holy knows all too well how hard it is to live without clean water – especially for women and girls.
She started fetching water for her family when she was just eight years old, struggling to carry heavy containers along the steep, slippery path.
It was tough in the beginning as I was little. I often used to fall.
The water wasn't clean, and Holy was often ill, leaving her parents with no choice but to spend what little money they had on medicine to treat her – and since becoming a mother herself, Holy understands how worried they must have felt.
The most challenging part of being a mother is when your child is ill. When they were little, it was tough.
Spending precious time collecting water instead of learning set Holy back in the classroom; she often arrived at school tired and thirsty. Many of her friends had to drop out entirely.
We came back from school and had to pick up a container and fetch water for our families... When I was little, there were so many of us who had to drop out.
29-year-old Landiniaina – known as Holy – lives in a small village around 50km east of Madagascar's capital. Most people here are small-scale farmers or labourers, earning less than £1 a day.
Credit: WaterAid/ Ernest Randriarimalala
Credit: WaterAid/ Ernest Randriarimalala
A proud mother to two daughters, eight-year-old Fitia and three-year-old Sarobidy, Holy knows all too well how hard it is to live without clean water – especially for women and girls.
She started fetching water for her family when she was just eight years old, struggling to carry heavy containers along the steep, slippery path.
It was tough in the beginning as I was little. I often used to fall.
The water wasn't clean, and Holy was often ill, leaving her parents with no choice but to spend what little money they had on medicine to treat her – and since becoming a mother herself, Holy understands how worried they must have felt.
The most challenging part of being a mother is when your child is ill. When they were little, it was tough.
Spending precious time collecting water instead of learning set Holy back in the classroom; she often arrived at school tired and thirsty. Many of her friends had to drop out entirely.
We came back from school and had to pick up a container and fetch water for our families... When I was little, there were so many of us who had to drop out.
Although Holy didn't want her to, Fitia also started fetching water when she was five, following the older children from the village with a plastic bottle.
But recently, everything changed.
Although Holy didn't want her to, Fitia also started fetching water when she was five, following the older children from the village with a plastic bottle.
But recently, everything changed.
We have a tap now at home.
We no longer fetch water from down the hill. [My children] just open the tap.
We have a tap now at home.
We no longer fetch water from down the hill. [My children] just open the tap.
In collaboration with the national utilities company – and thanks to the support of people like you – we built a new supply system for the district, bringing clean water right to people's houses.
And as a result, life's looking very different now for Holy and her family.
“Kids’ life nowadays is much easier”
Holy's youngest daughter, Sarobidy, won't know what it's like to spend hours every day walking to and from the nearest water source.
She won’t struggle under the weight of full containers, risking injury on the dangerous paths.
And she won’t have to drink dirty water that only makes her sick.
With clean water on tap, she'll be free to learn, to play – and to thrive.
My kids have everything to succeed. I don’t think there’s anything stopping them.
“Kids’ life nowadays is much easier”
Holy's youngest daughter, Sarobidy, won't know what it's like to spend hours every day walking to and from the nearest water source.
She won’t struggle under the weight of full containers, risking injury on the dangerous paths.
And she won’t have to drink dirty water that only makes her sick.
With clean water on tap, she'll be free to learn, to play – and to thrive.
My kids have everything to succeed. I don’t think there’s anything stopping them.
“We have more time for us”
It's not just Holy's children who are feeling the benefits.
Now that filling a bucket only takes a few minutes, Holy has time to focus on earning a decent living, gradually expanding the modest coffee and mofogasy [donut] shop she shares with her grandmother – and looking forward to bigger things ahead.
One day, I'd love to see myself running my own small business.
Your support makes change like this happen
The future's looking brighter for Holy and her children.
But around the world, almost 1 in 10 people still don't have a reliable source of clean water close to home.
Will you help us reach even more communities like Holy's with life-changing clean water?
“We have more time for us”
It's not just Holy's children who are feeling the benefits.
Now that filling a bucket only takes a few minutes, Holy has time to focus on earning a decent living, gradually expanding the modest coffee and mofogasy [donut] shop she shares with her grandmother – and looking forward to bigger things ahead.
One day, I'd love to see myself running my own small business.
Your support makes change like this happen
The future's looking brighter for Holy and her children.
Credit: WaterAid/ Ernest Randriarimalala
Credit: WaterAid/ Ernest Randriarimalala
But around the world, almost 1 in 10 people still don't have a reliable source of clean water close to home.
Will you help us reach even more communities like Holy's with life-changing clean water?
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