Restoring Hope Through Water: The Story of Gilete Njila and Jesse Jana

Location: GVH Naituli, Traditional Authority Ngokwe, Machinga District
Project: Climate Justice Bridging Project (CJBP)
Implementing Organisation: OSSEDI
Supporting Partners: Oxfam GB and the Scottish Government
Beneficiaries: 45 households
Background and Challenges
For Gilete Njila and her daughter, Jesse Jana, accessing water has been a significant challenge. The family of six lives in GVH Naituli, Traditional Authority Ngokwe, Machinga District. Gilete is blind and cannot independently fetch water, while Jesse experiences healthrelated problems that make it difficult for her to carry a water basin on her head. These challenges made meeting the family's daily water needs particularly difficult.
The situation was compounded when the community borehole stopped functioning in 2019, disrupting access to this essential resource for households in the area. For vulnerable families such as Gilete's, the loss of a reliable water source created additional difficulties in meeting everyday domestic needs, including drinking, cooking, and maintaining personal hygiene.
The Intervention: Restoring Access to Water
Through the Climate Justice Bridging Project (CJBP), implemented by OSSEDI with support from Oxfam GB and the Scottish Government, the borehole in GVH Naituli was rehabilitated and restored to service. The intervention has reinstated access to an important community water source, which now serves 45 households.
For Gilete, Jesse, and their family, the rehabilitation has helped address the challenges associated with accessing water. The restored borehole provides an essential service to the wider community while supporting households whose members face additional barriers due to disability or health-related limitations.
The Change: Improved Access and Dignity
The rehabilitation of the borehole represents an important improvement for Gilete and Jesse. With the water source restored, their household has improved access to water for daily use, helping ease some of the difficulties they previously experienced.
Gilete's visual impairment limits her ability to collect water independently, while Jesse's health condition makes carrying a basin on her head difficult. Improved community water access is therefore particularly important for their household, as well as for other families relying on the borehole.
Gilete Njila shares:
“Being blind and old makes it difficult for me to fetch water on my own. Having access to the rehabilitated borehole has made things easier for our family.”
Jesse Jana adds:
“Because of my health problems, carrying a basin of water on my head is difficult. The borehole has made accessing water easier for our household,before this we used to walk long distance to fetch water,it is my prayer that God blesses your organization for the work which you have done for us.”
A Community Wide Impact
Beyond benefiting Gilete's household, the rehabilitated borehole now serves 45 households in GVH Naituli. Its restoration demonstrates the importance of maintaining and rehabilitating existing water infrastructure to ensure communities can access essential services.
The intervention also highlights the importance of inclusive WASH programming that recognizes the different needs of community members, particularly people with disabilities and those experiencing health related challenges.
Through the CJBP, OSSEDI, with support from Oxfam GB and the Scottish Government, has contributed to restoring an essential community resource and improving water access for households in GVH Naituli.
The story of Gilete and Jesse demonstrates how rehabilitating a non-functional borehole can restore access to an essential service, ease daily challenges for vulnerable households, and strengthen community well-being and inclusion.