THE JERE FAMILY
The Sonder Project
THE JERE FAMILY
For the first time in their lives, clean water was just steps away for the Jere family. Moffat, Emilysia, their two children— Yesinta and Justin— and their grandson, Trevor, from Chimphako, Malawi, struggled for years without access to clean water. The first time Moffat tasted clean water he was overcome with joy.“ It was like I had never tasted water before— it was so sweet,” he says, his smile broadening.
Yesinta and Justin proudly pose outside one of their school classrooms.
The stream where the Jere family would collect water prior to the Sonder well.
Before the well, Emilysia often spent hours collecting water from a small, polluted stream to be used for drinking, cooking, and cleaning at home. The stream wasn’ t just inconvenient— it was dangerous. Animals drank and defecated nearby, contaminating the water. The entire family, especially the children, would fall ill frequently. She would walk to and from the stream, navigating a steep incline, at least twice a day and during the dry season often go at midnight just to avoid competing with other women.
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