disproportionately by women and girls. Prior to the implementation of the project, participants frequently undertook multi-hour daily journeys to fetch water, which substantially limited their capacity to engage in other activities. Following the intervention, post-implementation surveys and time-use diaries revealed a substantial decrease in the duration required for water collection, often reducing the time to under 15 minutes per day. An FGD respondent from Mpeni shared:“ We no longer wake up at 3 a. m. to queue at distant water points.”
This reallocation of time was reported to have generated tangible socioeconomic benefits within the communities. In the education sector, school attendance, particularly of adolescent girls, was said to have improved substantially, with headteachers attributing enhanced punctuality and increased classroom participation to the newfound availability of water at or near homes and educational facilities. As the headteacher at Chayamba mentioned,“ With the challenges of water back then, children used to report late to school”; more easily accessible clean and safe water sources have decreased this tardiness. In addition, interviews with women across the project sites suggested that time savings and improved water access facilitated their greater involvement in income-generating activities, including agricultural production and informal trade, thereby contributing to improved household livelihoods. For example, one FGD respondent from Kauzegalu said,“ I started a small vegetable garden using the water”.
While water access increased for all groups due to water sources having water all year round, access remains difficult for people living with disabilities( PLwD). A community member from Jonasi described access for PLwD:
“ For them to access water is very difficult but as a community, these people [ PLwD ] sometimes are helped by someone drawing water for them. Sometimes when they reach the water source, they are given a chance to draw water before anyone else.”
— Community member, Jonasi
Another participant relayed that it still takes 30 minutes for them to walk to the borehole, which they say is even more difficult for PLwD or young children. During an FGD in Chiwinga, a community member described the elderly and PLwD not going to the water source themselves, saying:“ Women and youth often fetch water for the elderly or disabled.” A participant from Chimpako said the same:“ For the elderly, it ' s even harder. Most of them cannot draw water on their own due to the distance and the terrain, so they usually rely on others to help them.” These instances are largely dependent on which areas and which households are discussed. In Kasalatima, community members said,“ It is much easier for everyone to get water, especially the elderly and children.”
4.1.4 Improved Sanitation and Health Outcomes
According to respondents, health outcomes in the communities have improved following the introduction of The Sonder Project, with many reporting a perceived decline in waterborne illnesses, particularly diarrhoeal diseases among children under five. Respondents noted that although previous hygiene promotion campaigns had increased knowledge levels, their impact was limited by the absence of reliable access to clean water. A Chimpako committee member described:“ It [ the Sonder borehole ] has improved hygiene and saved time for many of us.” The availability of a consistent water supply through the project was widely cited as addressing this critical sanitation barrier, contributing to improved health conditions. According to community members, health workers in local villages and nearby health facilities reported observing decreases in patient loads for preventable diseases, a perception that was reinforced by self-reported reductions in illness at the household level.
Respondents also described improvements in hygiene practices both in homes and educational settings. Field observations by the TSI team in participating communities and school premises at Kauzegalu, Chiwinga, Chimphako, and Chayamba indicated that the widespread use of handwashing practices, and student-led sanitation routines, such as scheduled latrine cleaning, had become institutionalized practices. These behavioural changes were viewed as evidence that reliable water availability has served as a key enabler for the sustained adoption of
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