Mallicha's story

Mallicha lives with her nine children and dedicated husband in Borale, a small village in southern Ethiopia that frequently suffers from drought.  Throughout her whole life, water has been a worry.

Mallicha relies on rainfall to feed her precious livestock. Without water, the animals die. Without animals, they have no income and no food to survive.

"Our family has lived in Borale for over 30 years and, for the majority of that time, our only water source had been out by Marimo. On foot that took me about eight hours for the round trip."

Mallicha

And the long distance Mallicha had to travel was not the only problem.  

For Mallicha's family to survive, she had to walk miles to collect unclean water, saturated with salt from the surrounding landscape and contaminated with bacteria and viruses. By drinking this water, her children were always in danger of catching water-borne diseases. They would often become sick and miss school.

In Borale, SCIAF excavated a new water source and provided families with water filters that ensured their water was free of dirt, bacteria and viruses.

Each filter is guaranteed for 20 years and can filter over 700,000 litres of water, providing a source of clean water for a family for years to come. 

Now, the water that Mallicha collects is safe for her family to drink, whenever they need it.  

"Drinking dirty water was just part of my family’s life but since receiving the water filter things have changed considerably. Our children look and feel better and have not needed any medication since. They no longer have to take time off school. Our life is completely different!"

Mallicha

Thank you to all of our supporters who purchased a water filter Real Gift and changed the lives of families like Mallicha's.