Zambia: real lives

Harriet remembers how she hated her six-hour trek to the only shallow well near the village. She had to endure the long trek and then the many hours waiting in line to get water for her family - water that was not always safe to use.

"If you wanted to draw water early, it meant going to the well around 4:00 am." Harriet could not send her children to get water because of the long walk, and she was afraid they might fall into the well. Because of the unclean water, Harriet said her children were often sick with diarrhoea and other water-related skin diseases.

To help Harriet and many others facing the same difficulty, ChildFund Australia's affiliate organisation in Zambia constructed an additional shallow well in the village. She says, "The well is so close that I can send my children alone when I have other chores to do." She adds that the occurrence of illnesses among her family members has also decreased, and she no longer needs to ration water.

Monica, a mother of eight, claims that getting the new well in her village was the best thing to ever happen in her life. "I can't describe how we feel about the well because we have suffered too much," she says, adding that initially people had no choice but to drink dirty water.

Monica recalls that people from her community would have to send their daughters to the only well so they could collect enough water for the whole day. However, because of the large number of people who also needed water, her daughters would have to wait in line long periods of time.

Long lines for water led to low school attendance. She said two of her daughters had to repeat some grades because they lost so much time going to the old well. With a new well closer to her home and clean water readily available, Monica is happy now. "My daughters can easily get water, wash the plates and still manage to go to school."