Women and children in rural Zimbabwe wake up daily to the difficult task of collecting water. Without safe water nearby they must walk, often long distances, to collect water from unprotected sources such as wells, rivers, dams or sand-dug pits in riverbeds. This is a long, and exhausting task. 

Because so much time and energy is spent on this task, finding time to earn an income is a challenge.

GMP Relief and Development partner Showers of Blessing, help give access to safe water by installing boreholes in rural communities. A borehole nearby gives more time and energy to community members to change their lives for the better. They can now use the time they’d spend fetching water to grow food, or generate income. 

Mavis is a mother of four children. When water was too far away to fetch, she had to stop running her chicken farming business.

Mavis says, “As I am a woman, it was also scary to fetch water by myself because there were criminals around.” She could not take the risk of fetching water late in the evening for fear of being attacked.

With the installation of a borehole nearby, Mavis’ access to her livelihood has improved.

“I can now start my chicken farm again, as the water is close,” says Mavis.

Another woman speaks about the challenge of keeping goats when water was not safely available.

“We used to take them to the dam but they would end up being eaten [by] the crocodiles…most of the houses here don’t have goats because of that,” she says.

But with your generosity, she has now been able to begin expanding her livestock!

“We thank the Showers of Blessing for giving us the borehole, now we are able to do projects that we weren’t able to do before. We have lots of projects going, including [keeping] turkeys, goats and we are planning chickens.”

When a borehole is installed, women have more time for income generating projects. Projects like veggie gardens, small goat and chicken farms spring up within communities!

Showers of Blessing Director, Boniface Mpofu, speaks more about how safe access to water has such a positive impact. “The proceeds derived from these income generating activities enable communities to afford basic needs.” This could include bread, sugar and salt, which in turn attracts a business venture from other community members to open a small shop to provide these items. “It is also correct to say the bore installation provides employment in the community as it can provide all in the community with an income generating activity every day,” Boniface says.

Your support can help make even more income generating activities possible. Easy access to safe water gives opportunities for people to earn an income. This positive impact also has a flow on effect for those who are most vulnerable in the community.

Mavis says, “Thank you so much for this blessing you have given us; may God bless you.”

Showers of Blessing Trust’s (OSBT) project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).