Safe water for Fabiana and Jose's family
Jose and Fabiana's home and surrounding land.
Situated in the rich, green farming hills of Sossego in the Brazilian state of Bahia, Fabiana and Jose depend on the land for their livelihood and sustenance.
Fabiana wakes early each morning to work at a local high school where she prepares meals for the kids. There are about twenty students at the rural school that sits just up the road from her son, Nailton’s elementary school. Back at their home, Jose works on their property, milking the cows and tending to their crops of coffee, bananas, cassava, and orange trees.
Fabiana prepares breakfast for her family before she leaves for work.
Nailton smiles from his classroom at school.
“Our life here in agriculture is always about working on the farm.”
Jose and his son Nailton spread their harvested coffee cherries out to dry on their patio. Once the cherries reach the proper moisture level, Jose removes the coffee beans from the fruit.
Essential to the health and success of Jose and Fabiana's farm and family is safe water. For many years, the couple used a makeshift system of pieced-together pipes to draw water from a government-provided storage tank to their home. This system not only exposed the family to potentially harmful toxins due to the age and materials of the equipment, but it also required an electric pump to force the water uphill to the couple’s home. Due to the incline, the pump burned out regularly.
The storage tank seen in the distance is no longer useful or safe for Jose and Fabiana's family to use.
This meant Fabiana had to leave early each morning to walk to collect water from a river. Jose helped with the chore, but even when the couple doubled their efforts, Fabiana and Jose could never collect enough water for all of their farm and household needs.
Fabiana collected water from a river the sits about one mile from her home.
Marcos from Water.org's local partner bank meets with Fabiana and Jose at the gate of their property to say hello and learn about how their safe water solution is improving their lives.
Jose was thankful to learn from his contact at Water.org’s local lending partner that he could finance a just-right safe water solution for his property. Jose financed a new rain storage tank with the necessary pumps and piping to bring water into his home. Jose and Fabiana now have a safe, reliable water tank that sits elevated above their property to ensure the efficiency of the pump.
"Our lives have changed one hundred percent!"
After Nailton plays soccer outdoors, Fabiana gives him a glass of safe water.
Celebrating the life-changing solution Fabiana shared, “Our lives changed one hundred percent! I used to carry water on my head. I washed dishes and clothes in the river.” Fabiana is grateful she no longer walks long distances, away from her home and children to collect water or wash laundry in a river. Now Fabiana can earn income and be at home in time to welcome her children off the school bus.
Fabiana shared that Nailton is always eager to get home from school so he can play.
With appreciation for having access to safe water and the health and hope it brings, Fabiana cheerfully expressed, “Water is life…without water, we can’t do anything. We need water for everything in life!”
Water is life. Help protect and save lives by giving the gift of safe water today. Donate here.
