Halima’s Story: With water, life is better

During a visit to Wadajir village (outskirts of Kismayo), ACTED teams met a 57 years-old mother of seven named Halima. Like thousands of families, Halima’s family fled their home because of unforgiving drought that swept away their  livestock. Before the drought took its toll on their herds of goats and cows, Halima was able to cover the families’ needs such as food, clothing and education. The family survived the recurring droughts by moving their animals from one place to another in search of greener pastures and water. However, the serious drought that hit Somalia in 2016-2017  forced her to flee to other villages in search of aid.

With only two cows remaining from her herd of cattle, Halima along with her husband and seven children settled in Wadajir village,  now at the mercy of well-wishers and aid organisations operating in the area. As the rainy season approached, Halima started to cultivate a rain-fed piece of land next to her homestead and planted maize for household consumption.

However, the family had to walk about four hours every day to fetch water for their basic daily needs. As a consequence, Halima would occasionally buy cheap saline water for cooking and washing. In addition, she would buy a 20 litre Jerrican of fresh water per day for drinking, and, to save water, further limiting the bathing times for her family members to only two times a week.

To tackle the issue of access to water, ACTED and its local partner Social-life and Agricultural Development Organisation (SADO) built a 400m³ artificial elevated reservoir called a ‘Berkad’, with the support of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO). The water storage facility has water canals that channel rainwater into the reservoir through a  series of filtration systems. Water from the berkad is pumped into the elevated tank using a solar powered generator enabling ease of drawing water. The water installation in Wadajir village came as a relief to the villagers as it made water safer, closer and affordable to the villagers, particularly during dry seasons.

After getting the cheap water at her disposal, Halima now gives water to her cows on a daily basis and uses two-three jerricans of fresh water per day for drinking. Bathing times are no longer limited and all family members can take a bath on a daily basis, which is liberating for the families. Moreover, fetching water far away from home also generated gender-based violence concerns for women.

This risk has been reduced as water is now delivered to their doorstep. In addition, the teams created a water management committee composed of villagers to ensure the efficiency of this new water system. The recent rains filled the berkad to half its capacity and the residents agreed to save it for future consumption. As the village continues to rely on other sources during the wet season, this water should help them for the dry season.