Safe water turns challenges into choices
To Elivane, water is everything. For many years, the activities of her days were controlled by the time she spent walking to and from a river to collect the water her family needed. When she was pregnant, she often worried the physical strain from the walk and weight of her water vessel could harm her unborn baby. After her daughter was born, Elivane’s need for water increased while the time and energy the new mother had to collect it, decreased.
"Water is life to me!"
When she used to collect water, Elivane would carry her water vessel in one hand and her daughter, Elize, in the other.
When thinking back to the first few months of her baby’s life, Elivane explained the struggles she endured to find childcare so she could go collect water. Because Elivane’s husband had to work and her mother-in-law was only available to babysit for a short period of time each day, Elivane had no choice but to carry her baby to and from the river—the child in one hand and a heavy vessel in the other.
Elivane and Dario are proud of the home they've established for their young family in the beautiful, remote hills of Lagao Verde.
Elivane wanted safe water at home and the choices she knew could come with it. Through our work, Elivane was empowered with a lasting safe water solution and a new-found sense of choice in her life. This changed her family's lives.
Water from Elivane's rain storage tank is channeled into her home where she can cook, wash dishes, and bathe her daughter.
Elivane dreamed of the day she could access safe water in her home and now, her dream has come true.
Our local financial partners that serve Elivane’s rural community in Brazil helped provide Elivane and her husband, Dario, with a small loan to fund the construction of a water tank and the necessary pumps and piping to draw water into the tank from the river and the roof of their home. Now Elivane and Dario can get water for bathing, cooking, laundry and more, all from the water faucets connected to the tank that bring water into their home.
"Water is truly everything! I don't have the words."
When Elivane lacked access to safe water at home, she was unable to work on the coffee farm to help earn income. Now, she has the time to work part-time on the farm where her husband works full-time.
With hours returned to her days, Elivane is thankful to have access to safe water at home. While explaining how she now uses her time to earn income growing coffee and caring for her home she joyfully expressed, “Water is truly everything! I don't have the words.”
While she may not have the words, Elivane does have time. She now has the time to choose how she will spend her days supporting her young family and their bright future ahead.
