In Zimbabwe, Pertunia, a mother of four who is new to her village, joins the many women on their daily trek to collect water from a contaminated river that is drying up. Some days, she waits in line until ten o’clock at night, only to return home empty-handed, contemplating how she will try again tomorrow.
Pertunia’s husband passed away, so all her household duties, plus her family’s survival, are now her sole responsibility. She needs water to drink, bathe, wash clothes and keep her home tidy. Pertunia wants to help her children grow up strong, but collecting water from an unsafe source doesn’t help.
The ongoing drought in Zimbabwe is causing riverbeds to dry up. Without access to a borehole, communities like Pertunia’s are forced to search for any available water source. This practice is unsafe and often leads to illness and other community development issues.
Our Relief and Development partner, Showers of Blessing, helps people like Pertunia access water from a safe and permanent water source close to their homes by installing boreholes.
With your support, Showers of Blessing went to Pertunia’s village to determine the best location for drilling a borehole for her community. It was on Pertunia’s land!
Fortunately, Pertunia had heard about the benefits of a borehole, which gave her motivation. “I said they can go ahead and drill,” she replied.
The community worked together to clear access roads for the drilling through Pertunia’s land.
Pertunia praises the community’s efforts in supporting the borehole project. She was particularly happy about how “everyone worked together!”
After many years of collecting water from the river, Pertunia now has a community borehole on her land and will never be empty-handed again.
The borehole flows continuously, providing more than enough water for her and her community.
“I am happy because I had challenges in accessing water, [but] today, we’ve managed to plant our own vegetables. We were confined to buying from other villages. Now we can plant our vegetables and sell them later,” she shared.
Pertunia believes Showers of Blessing was a divine intervention that has significantly benefited her community. “It is God’s work. He remembered our community,” she said.
Grateful for the improvements brought by the borehole, Pertunia explains how she feels: “The way I see it? I’m just happy!”
Many people, like Pertunia, still lack access to safe water in rural Zimbabwe. You can help transform their lives by joining the Safe Water September challenge.
You can donate today at www.safewaterseptember.org.au
Showers of Blessing Trust’s (OSBT) project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).