ANGOLA, No More Tears
For as long as she can remember, Fatima had struggled to cope with the harmful effects of unclean water in Mabuia, Angola. As a girl, she spent hours collecting water for her family members. Though sometimes, the water made them ill because it was not clean. Fatima had to frequently take care of her sick siblings and, when she became a mother, her own sick children.
Eight years ago, Fatima's first child, Isabel, died after an onslaught of diarrhea attacks. “Isabel was always sick; she could just never get strong,” recounted Fatima sadly, as she hugged her second child, thirteen-month-old Fernando. By the time Isabel was Fernando's age, she had been sick a dozen times.
In 2000, UNICEF responded to Mabuia's high child death rate from waterborne diseases by offering financial support to build a pipeline from a nearby river to the community. A filtering system was added to ensure every single drop of water was clean and safe; and, for improved sanitation, latrines, wash basins, taps and showers were also installed.
The results were exceptional. Diarrhea rates dropped almost to zero. Child deaths plummeted. Girls were suddenly liberated from hours of walking to and from the river and were able to enter school. Mothers found more time for growing food crops—which meant healthier children, a boost to the family's income, and the ability to purchase more kinds of foods as well as mosquito nets.
UNICEF helped to create a community water and sanitation committee, which now maintains the water system. They're also continuing to work to ensure that each Angolan child has access to clean water through projects such as the building of water pipelines and launching of sanitation-awareness campaigns.
In addition, UNICEF is making sure that Angolan schoolchildren have access to clean water in their schools, even in the poorest districts.
UNICEF/ HQ96-1166/Giacomo Pirozzi
“When people are mired in poverty, providing clean water and sanitation will have a dramatic bearing on their lives,” explained UNICEF Angola Representative Mario Ferrari.
“A mother must take care of her children,” echoed Fatima, as she emptied her load of clean water into a bucket at her grass hut. “But we cannot do that when we have only dirty water. This project has changed the fortunes of this village,” she said.
“Look at my son—he is healthy. This is precisely what every mother prays for: No more tears. This is precisely what every mother prays for.”
