At the heart of the Batoka community, life for the Hamiyanze family used to be defined by a long, daily walk. Every morning, they had to trek two or three kilometers just to find water. It was not even clean water; it came from unsafe sources that frequently left both the children and the adults sick with multiple waterborne infections.

This was not just a physical struggle; it was an emotional one, too. With the father of the family incarcerated, the household was already dealing with a lot of strain and limited resources. Trying to maintain any kind of stability felt nearly impossible when so much time and energy were drained just by the search for something as basic as water.

Things began to change when the family was enrolled in The Child’s Journey Program through Prison Fellowship Zambia. At first, the support was focused on the essentials; school supplies, food supplements, and helping the family become more resilient. However, during a routine visit to the home, the staff realized that the lack of water was a major root of the family’s health and economic problems.

With generous help from a child sponsor, Prison Fellowship Zambia arranged for a contractor to sink a hand-pumped borehole right on the family’s property. After years of struggle, clean water finally gushed out of the dry ground, in the family compound. The impossible became possible.

The change was immediate. 49-year-old Linety Mweene Hamiyanze, the family’s caregiver, says she never imagined finding this kind of support during such a “darkest time”. For her, the borehole is more than just a convenience; it’s a way to finally earn a living. For years, she had watched other women at the market selling vegetables from their gardens, but she could never do the same because she didn’t have the water to keep a garden alive. Now, she is growing her own crops and supporting her family.

The impact has also reached beyond the Hamiyanze gate. The borehole has become a shared resource for the wider Kabembe community. Neighbors who used to face that same long, exhausting walk for unsafe water now have a reliable water point. What started as a way to help one family has ended up giving an entire village hope.