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Impact Stories

2026 Columbia Walk for Water

April 25, 2026

The Weight of Water: Neema Carries a Heavy Burden

Neema lives with her family in Gwandi, Tanzania. Like all young girls around the world, Neema loves being with her friends—they enjoy playing netball and mdako, a game that involves small stones.   

But like most girls in rural African communities, much of Neema’s time is not spent doing what she enjoys—it’s spent walking for water.  

Twice a day, she walks an hour round-trip to collect water from a rain catchment she calls “the pond.”  

                                                                                      

Often, Neema walks to the pond with her best friend, Recho. Each girl carries a 10-liter bucket. When full, one bucket can weigh approximately 22 pounds. This is a heavy burden for a little girl.   
 
Neema’s friend Recho shared that the weight of the bucket on her head has a physical impact: “Sometimes I get headaches from fetching the water, and sometimes leg pain from carrying [the water] back.”  
        
                                                                                      

 
Not only do the girls carry the physical weight of water on their heads and backs, but they also bear the burden of knowing that the water is unsafe to drink.   
 
Although Neema knows that sickness is inevitable, she has no choice but to drink, cook with, and clean with the murky, brown pond water. When she gets sick, she misses school, putting her behind in her education.  
 
                                                                        

 
Last year, Water Mission became aware of the urgent need for safe, clean water in Neema’s community of Gwandi. In partnership with local leaders in Gwandi and our generous donors, we began constructing a project that will serve all 5,290 people in the community.   
 
When the project is finished in April 2026, it will utilize solar energy and back-up grid power to pump water, treat and chlorinate it, and distribute it to tap stands throughout the community, including at Neema’s school and the local clinic.
 

Soon, Neema and her friends and family will experience the life-changing impact of having access to safe, clean water. She will have the opportunity to be healthy year-round, and she will no longer have to walk for water that makes her sick.     



                                                                            


When you join a Walk for Water, you don’t just hear about the water crisis—you physically step into it. Participants walk 1.5 miles with an empty bucket, then stop to fill it with dirty water and carry that heavy load another 1.5 miles to the finish. For girls like Neema, this is not a one-day experience but a daily responsibility, carrying the physical weight of water on her body and the emotional and spiritual burden of what that journey costs her. When you walk, you help lift that weight by raising the funds and awareness needed to ensure women and girls never have to walk for their water again.
 

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Read more stories of children impacted by the global water crisis:

 

Celestine - Kambu, Kenya  Gladys - Golomoti, Malawi
In the remote community of Kambu, Kenya, a little girl named Celestine walks two miles every day with a five-liter jug on her back. Click the image to learn more about Celestine's story. Like many girls her age, it’s Gladys’ responsibility to fetch water for her family. However, where Gladys lives in Golomoti, Malawi, water options are limited. Click the image to learn more about Gladys's story.