“ We have heard that Sonder can help villages in education, if they can do that we would appreciate it. We have smart children here but no lead, they need a clear path to education.”
— Kawiya respondent
4.1.9. Community Members’ Use of Water for Irrigation
The availability of clean water closer to homes had a catalytic effect on community productivity. Participants reported that they never imagined there would be such an abundant and consistent supply of water to allow them to establish gardens. Women, in particular, began small-scale vegetable farming which not only improved household nutrition but also opened opportunities for modest income generation from produce. This was very evident in Chimphako, Chiwinga, Kauzegalu, Jonasi, Kawiya and at Chayamba Secondary school as reported by school officials. A respondent from Jonasi described their use of water for irrigation, as well as a community plan to create a positive feedback cycle of irrigating and maintaining a community garden to pay for borehole maintenance:
“ With the coming of Sonder Project, in our area now we do not lack relish [ this term is used for whatever is eaten with the local staple called nsima ]. We are able to grow vegetables for the household. Not only do we use vegetables for food, we also sell some and earn a little money that we use to buy other needs such as soap.
In our community, we are planning to grow different kinds of vegetables near the borehole, because we believe that when we have a community garden, we will be able to sell the vegetables, which will bring us money to use for the borehole maintenance. In that way, we will not have to contribute as per household and there won’ t be any misunderstandings regarding [ people ] who haven ' t contributed [ their ] fee for maintenance. This also means that everyone will access water without any challenges.”
— Jonasi respondent
4.1.10 Improved Safety for Women and Girls
A positive effect was observed in the area of safety for girls and women in some communities. Fetching water during early morning or evening hours is a time when girls and women are more likely to be sexually assaulted compared to other times and during other activities. The installation of boreholes improved security around the equipment, inadvertently contributing to the safety for the communities’ young girls and women.
A community member from Mpeni said“ We can fetch water at any time, even at night, because it’ s safe and close.” This positive impact is in addition to the aforementioned increased likelihood of girls attending school regularly as they now spend less time collecting water. While this was a partially intended goal, the extent of its impact, particularly among adolescent girls, was greater than expected. Some school officials mentioned that the increased access of water has improved their morale and that others are more motivated to teach in rural schools due to available water supply.
4.1.11 Improved Social Cohesion Within Participant Communities
As villagers came together to form water user committees, maintain communal water points, and participate in hygiene education sessions, a renewed sense of collective responsibility and unity has emerged. Guided by community leaders, shared challenges such as managing water access schedules and resolving minor disputes over usage have been resolved through improved dialogue and cooperation among households that previously had limited interaction. In some areas, the construction of sanitation facilities even prompted joint labor contributions from different family units, reinforcing community bonds. This improved collaboration extended beyond the WASH activities, with some groups considering communal farming and savings
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