Clean water for 1 new person every 10 seconds

A stream flows within an hour walk from Lufila village of northern Zambia where Brenda lives. It has been the community’s only source of water for years. It wreaks havoc on the community and harbors despicable things in the water. Brenda is a mother of 7 and among many who have suffered horrendous experiences due to the lack of clean water. Scabies, a skin disease caused by mites, attacked her and upended her health, economic, and social life.

“Scabies covered the entire skin on my arms, thighs, and groin - it brought shame because I had to scratch myself at all times – it was itchy and painful. My skin was looking ugly,” Brenda says. “It became thick, spotty and dark; this sometimes forced me to shun people because they laughed at me.” Scabies is highly contagious, and the treatment requires clean skin and clothing, as well as a topical treatment.

As her condition worsened, Brenda opted to avoid antenatal clinics, even though she was expecting. “The doctor encouraged me to keep coming and told me that the best medicine was to bathe every day with clean water and wear clean clothes most of the time. This has been a difficult thing to achieve because the stream is far and the water is dirty,” Brenda says. “My fear has been that if scabies could be passed on to my child, it could be harder for my baby to cope,” she says thoughtfully. Fortunately, when baby Isaiah was born, he did not contract scabies from Brenda. However, Brenda’s fears were that Isaiah could get the disease any time if she was still wrestling with it. She was applying different medications that were prescribed at the clinic, but she had no way to keep herself or her clothes consistently clean.

Thankfully, Brenda’s world changed. World Vision drilled a borehole in her village just a few meters from her home. “When World Vision started teaching me about hygiene and the need to have the five WASH basic needs at home before drilling a borehole, I thought they were lying. I was shocked but happy that they fulfilled their promise,” Brenda says, with a big smile as she clads Isaiah in her wrapper to shield him from the cold-windy morning. Prior to drilling, World Vision educates each community on the five key sanitation practices: handwashing, digging latrines, building dish drying racks, showers, and rubbish pits.

Brenda then had an opportunity to end her pain and fears. “It was such a blessing for me. I could bathe at least three times daily and wash clothes and blankets often because water was no longer a worry for me. Within two months, all the scabies disappeared, and my skin got back to normal,” she says.

“I’m happy this has also helped me not to pass on the disease to Isaiah. I have never thought that my suffering could end just like this. I am very thankful to World Vision because now I can freely mingle with people at church and can now work to help my husband to provide for the children,” Brenda says happily.