Every day, Gloria* has to walk for miles to collect safe drinking water for her family. Hundreds of people from her small village in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have to do the same.
‘Water is the number-one problem in my community,’ says Gloria. ‘The distance to the closest water source is 45 minutes for an able man, or more likely an hour for the women and children. It is often the women and children who collect the water.’
For years Gloria has been representing her village as the president of her village development committee. She has repeatedly asked local authorities to help the village get access to clean and safe water. However, Gloria’s requests went unanswered – until now.
A joyful day
Tearfund has been working in the DRC to provide clean water for communities. We responded to Gloria’s request, and installed a borehole, which allows people to draw up water from the ground with a solar-powered pump.
Gloria watched as Tearfund staff drilled deep into the ground to find water. Children quickly gathered round, enthralled by the process. When water suddenly shot out of the pipe several metres in the air, the children screamed and jumped with excitement.
