From dust to abundance, Amina's family now thrives
“If I didn’t have the water, you would have found a desert here."
Lasting access to safe water on their property brings Amina and her husband so much joy
Today Amina sits beneath the shade of her banana trees, the leaves swaying gently in the breeze. Just a few years ago, this patch of green was dry and bare—little more than dust and heat. “If I didn’t have the water,” she said, “you would have found a desert here.”
Amina and her husband appreciate the eggs their chickens produce
Amina has safe water at home now, where her banana trees are lush, her chickens cluck happily in their coop, and her grandchildren leave for school without the burden of early morning water collection. This transformation began with a decision Amina made to take out a small loan for a safe water solution that would eventually change everything for her family.
To earn extra income, Amina sells some of the bananas she grows
Before getting a safe water connection on her property, Amina’s family depended on a government provided, community well. The wait was long, the buckets heavy, and the water often unsafe. “We’d have to get there early,” she recalls, “before the children went to school. Sometimes my husband had to help, or we’d pay others just to get enough for the day.”
Ten or more buckets were needed daily, and the effort consumed hours. Time that could have been spent farming, earning, or for her children and grandkids, at school learning
The toll wasn’t just on their schedule—it was on their health. Amina remembers the fevers, the stomach illnesses, the endless hospital visits they’d pay as a result of consuming unsafe water from the subsidized well or other, natural sources. “You’d be told it’s typhoid or amoeba infections,” she says. “There were various diseases going around.” And the physical strain of carrying water long distances? “Pretty sure that would have killed me by now,” she said with a quiet laugh.
Together the couple determined financing their safe water and sanitation solutions to be the best option for improving their living conditions immediately
When the opportunity for a small, affordable loan for a safe water connection and improved sanitation solution was presented to Amina and her neighbors by our local partner bank in the region, Amina saw a way forward. She and her husband worked through the details together, using some of their income from renting housing on their property to cover the payments.
"I have total peace of mind...water truly is everything.”
Within six months Amina and her husband repaid their first small loan for 500,000 Tanzanian Shillings which is equal to about $203.
With safe water flowing, everything shifted. Chores that once took hours now take minutes. Amina and her family can bathe, cook, and clean without delay, freeing Amina to focus on her chicken and banana farming. Her income has grown, her health has improved, and her joy is palpable. “I have total peace of mind,” she shared. “Water truly is everything.”
Now Amina can cook and clean in her kitchen without worries about having enough water
Her family now has a clean, private bathroom
And Amina's banana trees thrive, providing both shade from the heat of the day and a source of income
The environment around her has changed too. What was once dry and barren now flourishes. “We would have been experiencing a great drought,” she says. “But now we have shady trees. Water brings peace. It brings life.”
“I can’t explain how good it feels. When everyone sees the transformation in my life, they realize that water truly is everything.”
Safe water helps make more possible for families in need. Their health, opportunities to earn income, and resilience to a changing environment all can improve. “I can’t explain how good it feels. When everyone sees the transformation in my life, they realize that water truly is everything.”
