Chimwemwe’s Story: From Thirst to Hope

The sun was only just rising when Chimwemwe used to begin her day. At 26 years old, she was already tired before the morning had properly begun. Every day, she would take the same two-kilometre path, balancing a heavy bucket on her head, just to collect water for her husband and two children.

The water was never clean. Sometimes it was cloudy, sometimes scarce. Often, it made them sick. Yet it was all they had.

“Back then, I would wake so early just to fetch water,” Chimwemwe remembers. “It was exhausting. I had little time for my family. And still, the water was not safe.”

Everything changed when World Vision, with the support of Arise Church, helped drill a borehole in her community. For the first time in Lipiri’s history, clean water flowed freely.

Now, instead of waking in the dark to walk miles for dirty water, Chimwemwe steps outside and fills her container with clear, safe water in minutes.

“I no longer walk 2 km to fetch water. No more waking up early in the morning. I have so much more time to take care of my husband and my two children,” she says with relief.

And Chimwemwe is not alone in this transformation. In 2007, only 10.8% of households in Lipiri had access to safe drinking water. By 2017, that number had soared to 92.5%. It’s a change that can be seen everywhere she looks. Children who were once weak from sickness now run and play. Parents who used to spend long hours searching for water now have time to farm, care for their families, and even plan for the future. At the health centre, diarrhoea cases have dropped dramatically, and for the first time, there have been no cases of cholera.

Her daughter Malena, just ten years old, has also felt the difference. Before, she often missed the start of her school lessons because her family had to wait for water at the well. “I start lessons in my class on time every day now,” Malena says proudly. “That was not the case before the borehole.”

The ripple effects don’t stop with water. With safe drinking water available, children are healthier, and parents are learning about good nutrition. The proportion of stunted children under five has dropped from 58.2% to 38.8%. Families are harvesting more food, and the number of households able to eat well throughout the year has grown from just 10.2% to 35.5%.

For Chimwemwe, this borehole is more than a source of water—it is a source of life. She feels deep gratitude for World Vision and Arise Church, whose partnership made this transformation possible. Their generosity has freed her family and her village from the daily struggles of unsafe water and opened the door to a brighter future.

Clean water doesn’t just quench thirst. In Lipiri, it has changed everything.