Like most parents, Unite is concerned for her children’s safety and wellbeing. As a teacher, she cares about their education and their future. Living in rural Zimbabwe, feeling vulnerable and worrying for her children’s lives was once a daily reality.

Unite’s children are growing up in a community where safe water was once scarce and collecting any water could be a dangerous process.

Without running water within the community, children would often visit the local river to collect water for drinking. Being young, the children were susceptible to preventable, easily treated diseases like diarrhoea which could be severe or even deadly.

As she reflects, Unite grows sombre. It was difficult to watch children as they collected water and she remembers a time when children from the community drowned in the river as they retrieved drinking water.

An open well near a local school provided hope for a time, but it also caused problems. Parents became afraid to send their children to school for fear of them falling into the uncovered well while collecting water.

As a teacher, Unite saw the devastating impact that a lack of safe water had on children’s education. Children would become sick, forcing them to take time away from classes. With contaminated rubbish found in the well, Unite’s fellow teachers also stopped attending work for fear of becoming sick.

Without enough teachers, her children could not learn.

For Unite, Showers of Blessings’ provision of a borehole means more than having safe water to drink and cook with. The borehole has restored the community with health, dignity, education and safety.

With safe water available, the community has been able to rebuild its school. Unite is thrilled to report that many teachers are applying to teach. As a result, education has become easily accessible to local children.

As she tells of the changes the borehole has made in her community and the lives of her children, Unite runs out of words.

“I’m too excited.”

While diarrhoea is the leading cause of death among children in sub-Saharan Africa, Unite no longer worries for her two young children. They have safe water to drink, well prepared food to eat and even have enough clean water to bathe in.

While the community has come a long way, Unite is hopeful for more change in her village. She looks forward to future projects, which will make it even easier to access life changing water.

–

If you'd like to change lives by giving safe water to people like Unite, take the Safe Water Septmeber Challenge!
Sign up or find out more at SafeWaterSeptember.org.au