Clean Water Now Flows in Igboeze After 12 Years of Struggle

For twelve years, the women of Igboeze woke up before dawn. Not to prepare breakfast, not to pray — though they did that too — but to begin the four-kilometre walk to the nearest clean water source before the sun made the journey unbearable. By the time they returned home, school was often already starting for their children.

"We lost so much time. So much of our life was just water. Every morning, every evening, water. My daughter missed school so many times because I needed her to help carry the jerricans. I am ashamed to say it, but it is the truth." — Mama Chidinma, Igboeze community elder

The Project

The Igboeze Solar Borehole Project was funded through our 2025 Community Infrastructure Campaign and a matched grant from a diaspora giving circle based in London. The borehole reaches a depth of 120 metres into a reliable aquifer, and is powered entirely by a solar array that also provides electricity to the community's primary health post.

Construction began in January 2026 and was completed in July — six weeks ahead of schedule, thanks to the extraordinary involvement of community members who provided labour, secured the site, and cooked for the construction team throughout.