Community Voices: Farida

Farida (pictured) lives in Nkuku sub village of Manguanjuki village in the Singida District of Tanzania.

“I come here or to the other hand pump twice a day to collect water for everybody in my household. I go in the morning and in the evening. It takes about half and house each time.

“Before these pumps were here I fetched water from traditional wells up by the big rocks. They had water in them throughout the year but in the dry season the was level was very low so it took a lot longer to collect the water; I had to wait for half an hour to fill a 10-12 litre bucket. During that time I went to school first and then I went to queue for water.

“The water looked clean in the traditional well but we knew it was not good water as the other people dipped their dirty buckets and calabashes in it. We usually boiled the waster before we used it. There are less stomach disorders now we have the clean water from the pump. I used to suffer from stomach aches and a little diarrhoea. I had to get some treatment from the hospital for the diarrhoea and I couldn’t go to school for three days. We had to pay 2,000 shillings [approx 80p] for the treatment.

“Life is better now with the clean water and I haven’t been ill since the pumps were here. We can now use more water for washing clothes, our house and our utensils, and taking a bath."


Image credits: Olivia Arthur/Magnum Photos for Water/Aid/Simavi, WaterAid Marco Betti