The Sonder Project
MATILDA MWALE IMPACT STORY
On a late morning in October , Matilda Mwale picks up a bucket and takes a two-minute walk to the watering pump to fetch water for her household . A few other women are there , and Matilda greets them and asks about their families as they make small talk while continuing to pump . The conversation is light and peaceful , but it wasn ’ t always like this .
Just a few months ago , the idea of taking a late morning stroll to collect water because the household supply was running low was nothing more than a dream . Gathering with women , making small talk , forming friendships , and strengthening bonds seemed impossible . These women were competing for a limited supply of water for their families . It ’ s hard to remain calm and peaceful when you are literally struggling to survive .
The previous water source was little more than a puddle . Matilda wouldn ’ t collect water directly from the puddle itself , but would dig a hole nearby and wait for the water to fill up at the bottom — like digging a hole at the beach . This allows the soil to provide some level of filtration , but the process is incredibly slow , the water is still not clean , and there ’ s never enough . In fact , Matilda would have to wake up as early as 2 A . M . to beat the competition and avoid waiting hours for the water in the hole to recharge . Matilda tells us her family of seven , with five children , requires seven buckets of water per day , but she ’ d be lucky to get three when she had to rely on the puddle .
Of course , she doesn ’ t have these worries anymore .
Matilda and her community of Mpeni received a new Sonder well in August of 2021 , and her life , and the lives of the other women in her community , changed dramatically . There was never a deep-well , closed-water system in Mpeni before , and the impact is significant . Water is now available at any time , on any day . Water is clean , and waterborne diseases customary to life in the village have lessened . Matilda can now schedule the day around the needs of her family . And the hard feelings between community members struggling to collect water have dissolved . There is a newfound sense of what ’ s possible in Mpeni , and the Sonder water pump has become the starting point where everyone comes together .
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