Elizabeth* is the sole parent of 3 young children. As a subsistence farmer, she works long hours in her garden every day to grow food for her family and some to sell at the side of the road to earn a small income. She is proud to tell us that all of her children are in school. When Bopoma Villages introduced the Healthy Homes Project in Elizabeth's village, she was very quick to see the benefits.
Every day, Elizabeth makes the long trek to a local river to fetch drinking water for her family. The river is the source of drinking water for surrounding villagers as well as cows, goats, donkeys and other animals. Like most rivers in rural areas, it is heavily contaminated with human and animal waste. “Because we were drinking water from the river, we used to need treatment from the hospital where much of my income was spent for medication,” she says. With a BioSand filter from Bopoma Villages, Elizabeth’s family now has clean water to drink.
Elizabeth was eager to learn what she could do to help her family stay healthy and strong. “We have a rocket stove, pot rack, fly traps, and a tippy tap and we learned about hand washing. These teachings have brought big change to my family…My children now wash their hands after using the toilet and we were taught to use ash to wash our hands if we have no soap. At first it was difficult for us to do this, but now we are used to it. We are even teaching our neighbours and friends to do the same."
For Elizabeth, better health means more time and energy for farming and caring for her family, and the funds to keep her children in school. It also means her children can grow, develop and learn and have the opportunity for a brighter future.
*name changed