Over the years, donations to Laudara have enabled us to support the installation of boreholes in and around Ndegeya. At the time a borehole is installed, the immediate benefit is obvious: people gain access to clean water closer to home.
This drought has shown another side of their value.
A good borehole is not only a water source for ordinary days. Because it reaches groundwater much deeper below the surface, it is less dependent on short-term rainfall than many traditional water sources. During this drought, that difference became very real. While other sources dried up and even piped water supplies were restricted, the boreholes in Ndegeya continued to provide water.
This also meant that their importance reached beyond the people who normally use them. As water became scarce elsewhere, the boreholes were able to support people from surrounding villages as well. An investment made for one community therefore provided a much wider safety net during a period of exceptional need.
Reliable access to water also has consequences beyond drinking water alone. It supports hygiene and sanitation, reduces the time and distance needed to search for water, and helps families maintain at least some normality when so much else is affected by drought.
The boreholes could not prevent the drought. They could not stop crops from failing or remove all the difficulties families have faced during these months. But they did continue to provide something absolutely essential: clean and safe water.
